Paul George ending up on the Thunder came as a surprise to most of the league, as Oklahoma City appeared to swoop in out of nowhere to scoop up the most coveted man on the trade market just ahead of free agency (at least, that we knew of on the trade market).
The reason George was on the block was not due to the Pacers wanting to get rid of their star, but because he had alerted them he would not be re-signing next summer as a free agent, so it would be best for them to trade him to recoup some value. In the end, the Pacers landed Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis for George, allowing the Thunder to pair him with Russell Westbrook and also letting them deal with the potential headache of losing him this summer.
George is, unsurprisingly, not exactly a beloved figure in Indiana right now after he pushed his way out this summer, but it honestly could be worse for the Pacers. Had he known he wasn’t coming back and let them believe he might re-sign and then walked without them getting anything back, that would have been worse.
Still, the circumstances surrounding his exit weren’t great, and in the months since he’s pointed to growing discontent with the organization over the years as one of the reasons why he wanted out. However, on Wednesday, ahead of his first matchup with his old team (this one in OKC), George noted that he does wish things had gone a little differently on his way out and says everyone involved shares some of that blame, including him, via the Indy Star.
“Obviously, I’m human,” George said. “Things could have been done a lot better. The process, that whole ordeal could have been done a lot better. I’ll share some of that responsibility. But at the end of the day, I did what was best for myself, what was best for my family. I had to move on. It was the right decision for myself. I’m happy. I’m happy with what the results were.”
It’s clear George isn’t bothered by his decision to leave Indiana and seems very happy to be in Oklahoma City, but I think he’s recognized things weren’t handled especially well and he wishes the split had been less acrimonious between himself and the organization he was synonymous with for the first seven years of his career.
