Paul George says Klay Thompson ‘probably would’ve stayed’ if Warriors trade happened

As the final days of the Paul George era in Los Angeles drew near ahead of the start of 2024 NBA free agency, one team remained in the thick of the conversation regarding a potential trade for the nine-time All-Star: the Golden State Warriors.

As we now know, the Warriors could not strike a deal with the Los Angeles Clippers for a potential sign-and-trade to acquire George. But just how close was it to happening? According to George, the deal "was close to being done. Even more than that, it seems the 34-year-old was under the impression that a trade would have also resulted in Klay Thompson likely remaining in Golden State.

During the latest episode of "Podcast P with Paul George," George discussed the topic and was an open book while revealing what he had been told.

"That was a real thing that was close to being done. That deal was close to being done from what I was being told on the situation, they was expressing just how much they wanted me there, how I could have fit in perfectly with Draymond [Green], Steph [Curry]. Klay [Thompson] probably would've stayed. [Brandin] Podziemski, [Jonathan] Kuminga, [Andrew] Wiggins," George said.

"They didn't know how or what package was going to be there to trade for me…[Kevon] Looney was going to be there and so it was very intriguing and it was still an opportunity to stay close to home, stay on the West Coast, and it was a win-win. I think Steph is a unicorn, one of one player, and Joel's a unicorn…So it was kind of like a good situation to be in the middle of, but ultimately the deal didn't go through. I think the Clippers didn't want a certain trade deal that the Warriors were willing to give and yeah, it just didn't happen but it was close. It'd been dope, man. I was looking forward to it, if it happened."

It's noteworthy that there was belief that Thompson would have remained with the Warriors had a deal worked out. It seems Golden State may have had a plan to make it all come together if a trade for George panned out.

George signed a max deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, which will pair him with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey as one of the league's best trios. Thompson chose to join the Dallas Mavericks, doing so via sign-and-trade, and the Warriors, just narrowly, missed out on an opportunity to put together an impressive core.

While George was surely intrigued by the idea of remaining out West, it's hard to argue that there's a better situation than the one he's in, as the 76ers instantly become one of the favorites to push the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference.