NBA Free Agency: PG13 to OKC - 5 Biggest Losers

Exactly one year ago around this time, the Oklahoma City Thunder took a gamble and traded Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Paul George even after knowing that he might not be staying long-term. But the gamble has paid off as the 5 time All-Star has finally decided to extend his stay in Oklahoma and has agreed to a four-year, $137 million max contract that includes a player option if he wants to leave.

The decision made by George is more of an emotional decision rather than a basketball decision. The relationship he has developed with his co-star Russell Westbrook has been the major factor in him committing to the team long term.

It is a tough decision as he has chosen to stay in OKC rather than take the opportunity to join LeBron James in Los Angeles. Has he made the correct decision?

Let us look at the 5 losers in this free agency signing.

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#5 LeBron James

LeBron James loses yet another chance to play with Paul George

LeBron James again loses the chance to play with Paul George.

The 'King' has made his choice and has decided to sign a 4 year, $153.3 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers as most people predicted he would. With the Lakers having the cap space to add two max deal players this summer, the most talked about free agent other than LeBron that Los Angeles was expected to land was Paul George.

Paul George would have the perfect sidekick to LeBron and the duo with either a young star cast or possibly another star would definitely have formed a championship roster.

LeBron might still get to play with another superstar as many other big names are still up for grabs this off-season and the Lakers are still favorite to land another one of them. But, anything can happen in the NBA and who knows LeBron might regret not being able to play with Paul George in the coming future.

#4 Paul George

Paul George was eligible for a supermax deal in 2 years

Paul George has been open about his sentiments towards playing with Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Its great for him that he gets to play for a team that he wants to play and with a co-star that he wants to play with, but an argument can be made that George could have made a better decision financially.

By signing a 4-year deal with the Thunder, he has given all the power in the hands of Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City front office. Instead, he could have gone for a 2-year deal with a player option in the third year thus enabling himself to be eligible for a 10-year veteran supermax deal.

George is optimistic about winning with Russell Westbrook and bringing Oklahoma its first championship. But looking at how the off-season has progressed in the Western Conference and how the Thunder are presently constructed, it seems highly unlikely that George is going to be landing his hands on the silverware any time soon.

Although he would have been offered lesser money, joining LeBron in Los Angeles would have given him better odds to win a championship. He could have signed with the Lakers for 2 years with a player option in the third and tried his luck on getting a ring. Then he could have gone for a supermax deal according to the situation and his wish.

This argument becomes invalid if Paul George ends up winning a championship in Oklahoma in the next four years. But if he doesn't, he might feel that he left more money and a maybe a ring on the table for something lesser.

#3 Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers front office unsuccessful in signing Paul George

The pipe dream of a LeBron-Paul-Kawhi trio is all but dead now.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Magic Johnson have been able to get their hands on the biggest price this off-season, LeBron James. With the 'King' already having signed with the Lakers, it is highly likely that many other superstar free agents will now be inclined to join forces with him.

The Los Angeles Lakers would have felt like bigger losers right now if they wouldn't have signed LeBron, but still, they have lost a chance to add another star beside LeBron. Being a native of Los Angeles, no other free agent had more incentive to join the Lakers and come back home than Paul George and therefore it perhaps would have been easier to lure him than it could be now for others.

All is of course not lost for the Lakers, who might well still get Kawhi Leonard and can still come out of this with a really good team. But nothing they might or might not put together will be as good as a LeBron-George-Kawhi triumvirate would've been. That's the trio that would have really scared the Warriors, who were only really threatened by one team a season ago, the Houston Rockets.

#2 Philadelphia 76ers

Paul George would have been a perfect fit for the Philadelphia 76ers

One of the biggest if not the biggest loser in this deal seems to be the Philadelphia 76ers.

Luring LeBron to Philadelphia seemed like something of a long shot for the Sixers, but looking at how the Sixers played all season long and in the postseason, Paul George seemed like the perfect fit for them at the small forward position. A trio of Paul, Simmons and Embiid surrounded by the right supporting cast would have been a lethal combination.

To add to the Sixers dismay, they had the cap space to give a max deal to a star free agent like Paul George and they were unsuccessful in landing him. Paul George could have been the final piece in the Sixers squad that could put them over the edge and made them favorites over the Boston Celtics.

The Sixers have now lost Ersan Ilyasova to the Bucks, Marco Belinelli to the Spurs, LeBron to the Lakers and Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Sixers need to make some moves in the next few days. Otherwise, it’s a possibility they could come up empty this off-season if they whiff on Kawhi Leonard too and potentially end up with a squad worse than the previous season.

#1 Oklahoma City Thunder

Paul George signing puts OKC $35 million over the salary cap

Sam Presti's gamble has paid off and Paul George has decided to stay in Oklahoma long term. Is it in the best decision though for Thunder?

Signing Paul George to a contract of 4 years worth $137 million dollars has put the Oklahoma City Thunder $35 million dollars over the salary cap. That is some heavy tax to pay for any team in the league.

Furthermore, we have already seen the Big 3 of Paul George, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony play together in the whole season and the playoffs and that did not end well for them. They were defeated in 6 games by a Utah Jazz team that was lead by a rookie in Donovan Mitchelle.

With the Western Conference now becoming tougher by the recent signing of LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers, OKC has definitely not made it easy upon themselves to give them the best chance to win a championship. Currently, as they are constructed, it seems unlikely that the Thunder will be winning a championship in a year or two even with the talent that they possess.