Thunder's Presti Discusses Rumors Russell Westbrook, Paul George Were Discontent

Oklahoma City Thunder General Manager Sam Presti sidestepped a question Thursday about rumors of discontent last season between Russell Westbrook and Paul George before both superstars were traded.

"I just can't get into whatever the speculation is," Presti told reporters. "I just can tell you this, I don't know how many people in the NBA are contented at the end of the season."

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported after George was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers that rival teams were "aware of the discontent of OKC's two stars."

Although the blockbuster deal, which was reported in connection with reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard signing with the Clippers, came as a shock to much of the basketball community, George told ESPN's Rachel Nichols on Wednesday it wasn't a surprise to those with the Thunder.

"This was nothing that came out of the blue; we were all on the same page," he said. "The initial plan was to give it another year, see what we could do and I did that. We played another year and it felt like we were just stagnant. Next thing was, let's move forward with other plans."

Meanwhile, Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets to link back up with James Harden in the aftermath of George's move as Oklahoma City started to shift focus to the future.

Although George didn't discuss speculation about potential issues with Westbrook, he noted they had an "easy" talk about his departure from OKC.

"[S]ame conversation me and Russ always have," he told Nichols. "He was happy, he understood. He was all for it. We talked as men and again, he was happy for me and he wanted me to do what was best for me and my career."

Background details aside, the two superstars have gone their separate ways and could face each other during the playoffs with the Clippers and Rockets set to contend in a loaded Western Conference.