Perhaps the most surprising byproduct of Victor Oladipo’s breakout year is that it’s forced a total re-evaluation of not only the Paul George trade last summer, but in certain ways, of Paul George himself. That sort of second-guessing was certainly exacerbated by the Thunder’s struggles this season, but it bears itself out nonetheless.
One of OKC’s main issues is that its trio of superstars each rely heavily on their capabilities as isolation players in order to be effective, which quite frankly does not jibe too well in the modern NBA with its renewed emphasis on spacing and ball movement.
That’s at least partially why the prospect of a reunion with George this summer in free agency – however remote the possibility – maybe doesn’t sound all that appealing to the Pacers. Here’s what GM Kevin Pritchard, who hasn’t exactly hidden his feelings about George’s exit well, had to say when asked hypothetically whether he’d consider pursuing George this offseason.
Via Jenna West of SI.com:
“I would want to know first if he would fit us,” Pritchard said. “We’re different now, Dan. One of the things we’re about, we don’t care about big names, we don’t care about big personalities, we don’t care about big brands. What we care about is being humble…
“Anybody that fits in that, yeah we’re interested…But if they don’t fit in that, I’m not interested.”
It’s difficult not to read that as a jab at George for how he left the organization, and it’s an easy one to make given just how improbable his return would be. But it also perhaps underscores a certain trepidation that may now exist regarding his actual value.
Still, plenty of teams will be lining up this summer as he’ll enter free agency as inarguably one of the hottest commodities on the market. The main battle, as it stands, is between his incumbent Thunder and his hometown Lakers, but others will undoubtedly join the fray when the chaos ensues on July 1.
(SI.com)
