Paul George was featured in an ESPN profile published by NBA insider Royce Young. The biggest takeaway from the editorial is interestingly enough centered around LeBron James, and an aversion to playing "under" him, as was the case with Kyrie Irving before his now infamous trade request. By all accounts, George and LeBron are on good terms, so it stands to reason that he wasn't picking a fight with the GOAT contender when he said the following. "You could say that about a lot of guys," George said. "LeBron is the best player in our league, but some people have a hard time playing with him. One thing you can't say about Russ is that he's not ready or he's not prepared. That's him every night." The example of LeBron James as a competent teammate (in the eyes of a high achiever) was brought up when Royce Young asked George to explain why he thought Russell Westbrook has a bad rap for being "selfish." Paul George was nevertheless able to build chemistry with Russell on the court, but also gain his friendship, as sappy as that may sound. Despite what's being said, LeBron has a proven track record of taking his teammates to the Finals..<doc-sep>Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George believe that certain players in the NBA may not be great fits next to LeBron James on the basketball court. George commented on what it’s like to play alongside James in the midst of many saying that it’s difficult to play with Russell Westbrook. “You could say that about a lot of guys,” George said. “LeBron is the best player in our league, but some people have a hard time playing with him. One thing you can’t say about Russ is that he’s not ready or he’s not prepared. That’s him every night.” George’s comments came shortly after a few of Westbrook’s former teammates lamented the star point guard’s “stubbornness and single-minded approach.” This isn’t the first time that a star player has not wanted to play alongside James. Former Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving explained that it was really tough to play with James due to all the additional media attention and added pressure to win a championship each year. Shams Charania of The Athletic added earlier this past summer that Kawhi Leonard, before his trade to the Toronto Raptors, wasn’t exactly “jumping for joy” at the thought of teaming up with James in Los Angeles. Furthermore, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, Minnesota Timberwolves disgruntled star Jimmy Butler “had once imagined playing for the Lakers, but LeBron James’ arrival as the franchise’s cornerstone made it less appealing for Butler in the prime of his career.” Despite all this reported resistance from stars, James has still managed to win three NBA titles, make it to eight straight Finals, and instantly transform any team he’s on into a playoff team and contender.<doc-sep>Paul George signed a four-year, $136.9 million contract this summer to stay with the Oklahoma City Thunder, shocking many around the league. For the last two years, every rumor stated that George was intent on going home and playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. After the Thunder lost to the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 2018 playoffs, many surmised there was no way George would go back to OKC since the club underwhelmed. That turned out not to be the case, as the Thunder did a great job of selling Paul George on their future throughout the 2017-18 regular season, and the All-Star swingman liked playing with star point guard Russell Westbrook and center Steven Adams and for coach Billy Donovan. In an interview with Royce Young of ESPN, George talked about why he enjoys playing with Westbrook, and he also brought up an interesting fact about Lakers superstar LeBron James. After LeBron signed with Los Angeles, the prevailing thought was Paul George would head home to team up with The King. George, however, decided not to: “My thing is, I like if I go on that court and there’s a guy I don’t have to worry about,” George says. “He’s going to bring it. When I look at Zero [Westbrook], I have no worries that night about what I’m gonna get out of him. I know he’s gonna bring it, he’s going to give everything he has. I like that. That motivates me, that pushes me, that keeps me going. “You could say that about a lot of guys. LeBron is the best player in our league, but some people have a hard time playing with him. One thing you can’t say about Russ is that he’s not ready or he’s not prepared. That’s him every night.” After Kyrie Irving requested a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the summer of 2017, a narrative began to circulate around the league that if you’re a scorer or player who needs to ball in your hands to operate, it’s going to be hard to do that playing next to LeBron. James dominates the ball, so unless you’re a spot-up shooter or big man, it’s going to be difficult to play your game as a point guard/scorer. George and Irving aren’t the only stars who supposedly didn’t/don’t want to play with LeBron. Rumors have surfaced that Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard also don’t want to play for the Lakers because James is on the roster.<doc-sep>Paul George would be wearing a Lakers uniform right now if he never but on Thunder blue and yellow. (Getty Images) Paul George would be on the Los Angeles Lakers with LeBron James right now if it weren’t for Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti having the chutzpah to trade for him in July 2017. Not only did the California native tell The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears that he would have signed with the Lakers had he reached free agency as a member of the Indiana Pacers this summer, but Spears reported that George was irked by his hometown team’s unwillingness to trade for him last summer. “It was 50-50 on deciding whether I wanted to come back home or if it was smarter to be in the situation I am in now,” George told The Undefeated. “But it wasn’t overstated. I wanted to play in L.A. That is where I wanted to go. Had that trade never went down, had I played one more year in Indy, I would have been in a Lakers uniform.” George’s interest in the Lakers is no surprise. When he informed the Pacers that he had no intention of re-signing with them in June 2017, Adrian Wojnarowski reported for Yahoo Sports that the five-time All-Star ranked the Lakers at the top of his list of preferred destinations. While much of the league shied away from offering anything of significance for George with the knowledge that he was likely headed for the Lakers after one season, Presti dealt Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for George. George had one heck of a quote on that, too. “It was a hell of a gamble,” George told The Undefeated. “That was balls to go against L.A. They tried it, tested their luck and Sam came up lucky.” Presti’s luck was mitigated by the fact that Oladipo transformed into an All-NBA guard for the Pacers, but his gamble still paid dividends when George agreed to a four-year, $137 million extension at the stroke of midnight on July 1. The 28-year-old was so sold on OKC after one season with Russell Westbrook that he didn’t even give the Lakers a chance to make their free-agent sales pitch and, per Spears, never discussed teaming up with James beyond an informal discussion during last season. Story continues According to Spears, the Lakers had the goods to deal for George, with Brandon Ingram already on the roster or the No. 2 pick they used to draft Lonzo Ball as the potential centerpieces of a deal, but Magic Johnson didn’t pull the trigger, opting instead to repeatedly tamper and hope George signed in free agency. There is logic behind that, since the New York Knicks notoriously traded a cache of assets for Carmelo Anthony in February 2011, when they could have just signed him a few months later, and the fallout contributed to years of frustrating attempts to build a competitive roster around him. Of course, it remains to be seen whether Ingram or Ball ever become a player of George’s caliber, and we know teaming George with James would be an awfully good first step toward a competitive roster. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors are smiling at all of this news, since they too gambled to land a soon-to-be free agent superstar that reportedly has eyes for the Lakers, trading for Kawhi Leonard in July. – – – – – – – Ben Rohrbach is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! More from Yahoo Sports: • 2003 rape allegations cost Kobe spot on film festival jury • Controversial call wipes out Astros home run • NFL owners take a knee in waning anthem controversy • Dan Wetzel: Gymnastics scandal secrets may finally go public<doc-sep>
Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George believes there are certain players in the NBA who don't mesh well on the court with LeBron James. Per ESPN The Magazine's Royce Young, George commented on what it's like to play with James in response to criticism that it can be difficult to play alongside Russell Westbrook. "You could say that about a lot of guys," George said. "LeBron is the best player in our league, but some people have a hard time playing with him. One thing you can't say about Russ is that he's not ready or he's not prepared. That's him every night." The topic was brought up when Young noted "frustrations" some of Westbrook's former teammates have privately expressed about his "stubbornness and single-minded approach." There have been numerous reported instances of star players not wanting to play with James. Before the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics in August 2017, ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst reported the five-time All-Star wanted to "be more of a focal point" and didn't want to keep playing next to James. Video Play Button Videos you might like The Athletic's Shams Charania said during a July appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd (h/t Sporting News' Travis Durkee) that Kawhi Leonard, before he was traded to the Toronto Raptors, wasn't "jumping for joy" at the thought of joining the Los Angeles Lakers after James signed with the team. Per ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t CBS Sports' Brad Botkin), Minnesota Timberwolves disgruntled star Jimmy Butler "had once imagined playing for the Lakers, but LeBron James' arrival as the franchise's cornerstone made it less appealing for Butler in the prime of his career." George was able to build a rapport with Westbrook and felt comfortable enough playing alongside the former NBA MVP to sign a four-year contract extension with the Thunder in July. Despite reported resistance from some stars to playing with James, he's still found a way to win three NBA titles and has made it to the Finals in each of the past eight seasons.