NBA News Roundup, Friday, September 20th: Suprise details emerge regarding Paul George's exit from the OKC Thunder, Update on Golden State's pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo and more

The 2019-20 NBA season will get underway in just over a month, and plenty could happen ahead of the new campaign. Notable free agents such as Carmelo Anthony, Kenneth Faried, and J.R. Smith remain without teams, and it is possible that a contending team could make a move ahead of opening night.

Meanwhile, big names such as Kevin Love, Steven Adams, and Bradley Beal have been linked with trades, and the Miami Heat is believed to be among the teams looking to make a big move in the coming weeks. So, with the potential for plenty to happen, here is all the latest NBA rumors and news you need to know for September 20th.

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Oklahoma City Thunder were looking to trade Paul George

Portland Trail Blazers v Oklahoma City Thunder - Game Three

The opening week of free agency provided plenty of surprising moves, and Paul George's trade to the Los Angeles Clippers from the Oklahoma City Thunder seemingly came out of nowhere. Nevertheless, during an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Doc Rivers claimed that the Thunder were the ones that wanted to break up their team:

We did know that Oklahoma City wanted to break their team up, so that helped. But we didn't know if we could get him. We just showed him guys that we thought would match him and when he saw Paul George's name he said, 'I want to play with him.

The Thunder and Clippers agreed a blockbuster trade on July 5th - with George heading to LA in return for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, forward Danilo Gallinari and five future draft picks. George had signed a new four-year deal with the Thunder last summer, although the team was comfortably beaten in the first round of the playoffs for the second season in a row.

PG13 will now form an All-Star pairing with Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, and the Clippers enter the campaign among the favorites to take home the title.

Dwane Casey believes Andre Drummond is set for a big season

Andre Drummond is among the NBA's best bigs

Andre Drummond is among the NBA's most dominant big men, although the 26-year-old's future with the Detroit Pistons has been called into question over recent months. Drummond has expressed his desire to test free agency next summer, while some have suggested that the center could be traded in favor of an alternative second star to play alongside Blake Griffin.

Nevertheless, Pistons head coach Dwane Casey is preparing to begin the season with Drummond - and believes the veteran is in the best shape of his career:

One, his overall conditioning. He’s in the best shape since I’ve been around him, the year and a half that I’ve seen.

During the 2018-19 season, Drummond averaged 17.3 points and 15.6 rebounds while shooting 53.3 percent from the field. The two-time All-Star led the league in rebounds for the third time in four years.

The Bucks are not concerned about losing Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Warriors

Giannis has developed into one of the NBA's best players during his time with the Milwaukee Bucks

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne caused a storm by suggesting that Giannis Antetokounmpo could exit the Milwaukee Bucks for the Golden State Warriors when he hits free agency in 2021. However, Sean Deveney of Heavy.com is reporting that the Bucks are not worried about losing their star man to Golden State:

Keeping Giannis, it’s a focus obviously,” a Bucks front-office source tells “But fighting the Warriors is not a focus. The Warriors are not the concern in the least. They’d have a long way to go to get him to Golden State, they’d have to give away a lot. He has never given any indication that he wants to leave Milwaukee.

The 2018-19 season was the best of Antetokounmpo's career as he guided his team to the Eastern Conference Finals while also becoming one of the youngest MVP winners in NBA history.