Alec Burks explains his mid free agency switch from the Thunder to Warriors following the Paul George trade pic.twitter.com/EWSOsaCklz
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 12, 2019
Alec Burks was at home when a friend told him about the NBA landscape-altering trade of Paul George to the Los Angeles Clippers. Burks had signed on to play with George and Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, projecting as either a starting guard or one of the first guards off the bench. A day later, he’d signed with the Warriors.
“I want to say one of my friends told me, then I saw it on the TV,” Burks said via The Athletic’s Anthony Slater. “They didn’t know what direction they were going after that. Kudos to the Thunder, man, they were very honest with me about the decisions and where they’re going in the future, and let me reevaluate my situation.”
Burks commended the Thunder for being forthright with him about the direction of the franchise, and allowing him to
“It was kind of mutual, shout out to them,” Burks said. “It was either [Warriors] or the Thunder when I made my decision the first time. So when the Paul George stuff came out [the Warriors] reached back out to my agent and this happened.”
Burks said he chose the Thunder over the Warriors both for the opportunity to play with the George-Westbrook duo, and the chance to be close to where he grew up and lives, in Kansas City, Missouri.
“Kansas City, that’s very close to Oklahoma City, so that was kind of a big factor too,” Burks said. “And coach Billy [Donovan] and Sam [Presti], they really, I wouldn’t say recruited, but they talked to me and I liked the direction it was going. Things change in the league every day.”
But the opportunity to play for the Warriors was far from a disappointment for Burks, who, again was between the Thunder and the Warriors when making his initial decision. Plus, he’s got another Kansas City transplant and ex- and now current teammate in Willie Cauley-Stein to play with.
“It’s a history of winning. They’ve still got Steph and Klay,” Burks said. “Klay came out out my draft class. They’ve got Draymond. Willie [Cauley-Stein] is here. Willie’s from Kansas City too and I played with him in Sacramento. I talked to Steve Kerr and he sold me, basically.”
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