In a week that has been filled with NBA trades, none have been bigger than the Thunder acquiring Paul George.Paul George goes West

Amidst speculation that he could go to the Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, or the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Indiana Pacers decide to trade Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for shooting guard Victor Oladipo, big-man Domintas Sabonis. Seems strange for both sides considering the fact that George will likely leave for the Lakers in 2018, and that the Pacers could’ve gotten a much better deal for George from Boston. George joins NBA MVP Russell Westbrook to create one of the deadliest one-two punches in the league.

Griffin comes back to the Clippers

Another surprising move was that Blake Griffin cancelled his meetings with the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns later this week, so that he and the Los Angeles Clippers could agree, in principal, to a five year-$173 million contract. This comes as a surprise considering the fact that L.A. just traded star point guard Chris Paul to Houston (since Paul was going to leave anyways). The Clippers are now built around two young front-court players in Griffin and All-Star Center DeAndre Jordan.

Steph Curry becomes highest paid player in NBA history

The Golden States Warriors keep their golden-boy in the Bay Area with a 5-year, $251 million contract.  This makes Curry the highest-paid player in NBA history, a contract that seems a little high for someone whose performance was incredibly poor in the Dubs’ 2016 Finals loss. It will now be incredibly difficult for Golden State to keep their big-four of Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, along with their key core of bench players.

Other stories to keep in mind

• Minnesota Timberwolves trade Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz for a protected first-round pick (originally from the Thunder). This opens the Wolves to grab a free agent point guard who can actually shoot now that the team has acquired Jimmy Butler to create a young, yet talented big-three.
• Chicago waives Rajon Rondo and Isaiah Canaan. This opens up options for Rondo who came off a strong showing against his former team, the Boston Celtics, in the playoffs. Interest has reportedly been shown for Rondo from the San Antonio Spurs.
• Danny Ainge once again shows his incompetence as a pick-crazed madman by letting Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Markelle Fultz, and Blake Griffin slip through his fingers while also reportedly offering Kelly Olynyk a qualifying offer. If there is one bright spot this week for C’s fans like myself, it’s this video of Jayson Taytum drilling ten-straight threes while practicing with second-team all rookie player, Jaylen Brown ( https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/880865126362083328 )

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Credit to @codysplash for the image used above.