Are Paul George, Josh Hart Messing With Lakers Fans Over L.A. Rumors?

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What better venue than an eSports convention to break some major NBA news?

OK, so there were no big trades or free agent signings revealed at Tuesday’s E3 Pro-Am Fortnite tournament in Los Angeles. But that didn’t stop Josh Hart from having a little fun at Lakers fans’ expense.

The Lakers guard joined Paul George and a handful of other NBA players at the star-studded gaming event. George’s presence obviously was significant, considering the persistent rumors he’ll opt out of his Oklahoma City Thunder contract this summer to join his hometown team.

So, when ESPN’s Gary Striewski asked Hart about George coming to L.A., the young guard decided to play along.

There you have it: “It’s about to be amazing” for Hart to have George as a teammate next season. Striewski also posed the scenario to George, who seemed a bit less amused.

TMZ Sports also did everything it could to convince the All-Star forward to spill the beans.

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These exchanges are all in good fun, of course. No one, perhaps including George, truly knows where he’ll play this fall, and the latest rumor actually is that he may stay in OKC.

But Hart and George appeared to be getting along very well, racking up Fortnite kills together and even posing for an Instagram photo, which Hart slyly captioned “LA” with the eyes emoji.

So, if George ever does end up signing with the Lakers, the gaming industry deserves at least partial credit.