Carmelo Anthony has already opted in for the coming season.

Benjamin Hoffman: Everyone knew Paul George was going to Los Angeles, but it turns out everyone can be wrong. The quiet forward liked playing with Russell Westbrook — and there is plenty of statistical evidence that Westbrook did everything he could to make George’s life on the court easier — and the atmosphere may have appealed to him more than the thought of going into the pressure-cooker of Los Angeles where not only would he be playing in his hometown, but he would be on a team where anything less than a title would be a total failure.

The problem, of course, is that the Thunder were a mess last season. Carmelo Anthony didn’t deserve to be on the court with Westbrook and George — and he has been fairly emphatic about not considering himself to be a role player off the bench — and a team that seemed like it could be special ended up losing in the same round of the playoffs that it had in the year before it acquired George and Anthony.

While maybe not being on equal footing with Golden State or Houston, there is still reason for optimism for this move. Andre Roberson, the heart and soul of Oklahoma City’s defense, will be back next year, and should the Thunder turn Anthony into a bench scorer (or use the stretch provision to release him), they could dramatically increase their efficiency. Westbrook’s flaws may continue to haunt them, and the team may be consigned to being a fairly good second-tier squad, but George will continue to be a star and Westbrook will continue to make that easy for him. And that’s not nothing.

Marc Stein: So many moves are happening that I’m sure you’re struggling to keep up. But you have to take a step back in admiration of what the Thunder pulled off tonight. They didn’t just convince Paul George to spurn the Lakers — and possibly LeBron James. George committed to a four-year deal with the Thunder that means he will be with them through at least the next three seasons. For Thunder General Manager Sam Presti and the much-maligned Russell Westbrook, this night is a huge triumph. The conventional wisdom around the league held that any deal George took from the Thunder would contain an option to return to free agency after two seasons and thus position the former Indiana Pacer to sign the highest possible max deal.

Checkbooks Are Out

Marc Stein: Money is so tight in this market that we’re seeing lots of verbal agreements struck tonight even though LeBron James has yet to formally announce his free-agent decision. It’s a reflection of just how limited teams’ ability to spend is.

Must Be in Texas …

DeAndre Jordan is back on his emoji game, suggesting he will indeed be signing with the Dallas Mavericks: