The Return of Paul George and Hamidou Diallo is Progressing

Sunday, Paul George makes his first appearance at the Peake since forcing a trade to the Clippers. George's return won't come with the same venom that Kevin Durant's return with Golden State did. Most Thunder fans are likely to cheer George and see him as the man who spurned LeBron James and the Lakers two years ago to stay in Oklahoma City.

Erik Horne of The Athletic reports that Billy Donovan expects the fans to welcome George back and treat him with respect "He was first class, at total pro a great guy to be around."..."I felt like when he was here, he had both feet in the circle. He did everything he could to help the team."

Billy Donovan on how Paul George should be received Sunday in his return to OKC: “I’d hope he’d be received well. He was first-class, a total pro, a great guy to be around. I felt like while he was here he had both feet in the circle. He did everything he could to help the team.”
— Erik Horne (@ErikkHorne) December 21, 2019

It's hard to argue that point, in his two seasons with the Thunder George averaged 25 points in 37 minutes. George also shed his image of being Mr.UnClutch. A lesson which he reminded us of back in November when he nailed a 26-foot jump shot off a Lou Willimas assist with 25.9 seconds left giving the Clippers an 89-88 lead they would never relinquish. Last season George made for game-winning shots his final one coming on April 9th against the Rockets when he hit a corner three with 1.8 seconds left giving the Thunder 112-111 victory.

The Irony for George's trade demand is that it may have made him the savior of the Thunder after all. Sam Presti said at a recent appearance at Emmerson College that he only saw that version of the Thunder having one more run. A run where they were going to be handicapped by being over the salary cap and not having any room to add crucial role players.

Because George forced Presti's hand, the Thunder now have a budding all-star in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and three first-round picks. Let's not forget about Danilo Gallinari even though his staus seems to change by the day, he along with the rest of the Thunder look to enjoy playing together. Not sure that was the case the last three seasons, and George is the one who made that possible. His desire to play alongside Kawhi Leonard was the catalyst that sent Russell Westbrook to Houston and allowed a looser atmosphere to permeate the locker room.

A quick update on Hamidou Diallo Billy Donovan says that Diallo is progressing in his rehab without setbacks. Diallo suffered a strained right elbow and has been out since November 25th. Diallo reaches the four-week mark on Monday in the evaluation process, his arm is out of its sling, and he's been keeping up with his conditioning.

According to Billy Donovan, Hamidou Diallo is able to shoot with his right hand now, but the medical staff is charting how many shots he takes and from where. They’ll ramp up distance as he progresses. pic.twitter.com/HiHTlNQbWT
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) December 21, 2019

Thunder/Clippers Sunday at 6 on Fox Sports Oklahoma and NBA TV.