The Oklahoma City Thunder were surprised by the trade request from superstar forward Paul George.

According to Brett Dawson of The Athletic, the Thunder were “caught off guard” by George’s request to move him to the Los Angeles Clippers. According to reports, OKC and the Clips were quietly discussing a trade to grant George’s request, which was made after a recruiting effort from Kawhi Leonard.

Per a league source, the Thunder were caught off guard by Paul George’s desire to play with Kawhi Leonard after a strong recruiting effort from Leonard. The whole situation unfolded in recent days. — Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) July 6, 2019

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN added that the Thunder has been working on a possible trade in the last few days. They were determined to trade George instead of playing next season with an unhappy star in the team. It was quite a surprise, considering the fact that George is coming off a strong season with OKC.

Paul George asked the Thunder for a trade within the last few days, and according to sources OKC felt it had no choice but to find a deal to reboot, rather than risk a bad situation all year long with an unhappy star — Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 6, 2019

George, who signed a four-year deal worth $137 million with the Thunder last summer, averaged career-highs 28.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 77 games with OKC. He was a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award last season, which was eventually won by Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The Thunder acquired incoming second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, veteran forward Danilo Gallinari, four unprotected first-round picks, one protected first-round pick and two pick swaps. It remains to be seen whether or not Oklahoma would go on a full rebuild after the huge trade.