The Pacers GM Went Back And Liked An Old Tweet About The Thunder ‘Stealing’ Paul George


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The Indiana Pacers are one of the best stories of the early NBA season. At 16-11, the Pacers have outperformed expectations by a significant margin, finding themselves in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff race, rather than being in the mid-lottery as many anticipated.

The Pacers have gotten off to their strong start despite losing their superstar forward in the offseason after Paul George pushed his way out of Indiana by alerting the team he wouldn’t re-sign in free agency in 2018, signaling to the Pacers’ brass they should move him or lose him for nothing.

Indiana was able to eventually find a palatable deal for George, sending him to Oklahoma City in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. At the time, the trade was widely panned as most felt the Pacers had settled for far too little in return for George simply to ship him to the Western Conference. However, through mid-December, Indiana appears to have gotten the best of the deal.

Oladipo has been a revelation, averaging 24.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4 assists per game, while Sabonis has been great with the second unit, averaging 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Conversely, George and the Thunder have gotten off to a rough start at 12-14 and the transition period in integrating Oklahoma City’s trio of offensive superstars has not gone as smoothly as many expected.

This has led to a victory lap of sorts from Pacers fans, reveling in the struggles of George and the Thunder in contrast to the Pacers’ success. Even GM Kevin Pritchard seems to be enjoying how the trade he was once criticized for has become something he’s now being praised for. We know this not because of something he’s said, but because the Twitter likes never lie.

Yes, that’s a like from earlier this week in which Pritchard has some fun looking back at the way the OKC Police Department’s official Twitter account trolled the Pacers by referencing the Thunder “stealing” George away from Indiana. In retrospect, that doesn’t appear to be the case and Pritchard is reveling in his success a bit.

There’s still plenty of time for Oklahoma City to turn things around and turn the trade into a win-win, which despite the way we tend to talk about trades is indeed the way it’s supposed to go. While every trade is supposed to be a deal to make each team better, at least in whatever their goal is, not many expected Indiana to manage to do so considering the situation with George being a free agent next summer. Pritchard took a risk on Oladipo simply needing an opportunity (and being healthy) and it’s paid off, so who can blame him for having a little fun looking back at the immediate reaction.

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