Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Paul George told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday he was aware the Indiana Pacers discussed a trade that would have sent him to the Golden State Warriors before he was ultimately dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Yeah, I think that would have been a Chris Paul to L.A. situation where they got denied at that trade," George said, per the Norman Transcript's Fred Katz. "Yeah, I was aware of it. I would've looked forward to it, of just being in a good situation and a chance to compete for a championship. But it didn't happen. It's still fun to team up with a special talent and have a chance to compete against that team."



Katz also noted that during their conversation, Wojnarowski disclosed the Pacers asked for Klay Thompson in a deal for George.

The Warriors declined to part with the Splash Brother, and the Pacers proceeded to ship George to OKC in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, George admitted he was caught off guard by the news he had been traded to the Thunder—since several other potential landing spots represented bigger blips on his radar at the time.

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"It was surprising. This team wasn't one of the teams that we had in mind," he said, per ESPN.com's Royce Young. "I thought I was going to four or five other teams that were pretty active in trade [talks]. When I found out it was OKC, I was quite surprised, but at the same time I was happy about the trade."

George will be free to sign with the team of his choosing next July once be becomes an unrestricted free agent, but the Thunder will try to get a head start on the recruiting process over the next 12 months as they try to show him a long-term partnership with Russell Westbrook is what's best for his legacy.