Paul George returns to Indiana on Wednesday night a hated man. The forward didn’t exactly request a trade, but told the Pacers that he would not sign a long-term extension with the club. When that information was made public, the Pacers had no choice but to trade him so they could get some kind of assets for George before he walked in free agency this upcoming summer.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were the surprising winners of the ensuing George sweepstakes, and the Thunder doubled down on that win-now mentality when they later acquired Carmelo Anthony. But the team has struggled this year, and at two games under .500, they’re trying to piece it together game by game.
The Pacers, meanwhile, have thrived with former Thunder guard Victor Oladipo, who is having a monster year in Indiana. That set the stage for a unique meeting between the two teams, where many in the local media have compared George to Oladipo. But George wasn’t having it, and said it’s unfair to take away from “Vic time” in Indianapolis by bringing up the past.
George spoke to the media before the game and said he doesn’t want to stoke the comparisons, mostly saying he was happy to see the Pacers doing well without him.
Paul George wants comparisons in Indiana between him and Oladipo to stop, and says he has closure about his departure from the Pacers: pic.twitter.com/IyEzYkzFWv
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) December 13, 2017
“They’re playing well,” George told reporters. “There’s no beating around it, they’re playing well.”
George praised the young team and their ability to move the ball, citing C.J. Miles’ growth as a player and Olidapo’s strong play as well.
“Vic has been phenomenal here and I would like to piggyback on what Vic said in terms of being compared to me. I don’t think you guys or Indiana in general has given in giving him the respect of, you know, I’m done. I’m over with. I’ve moved on. And it’s Vic time. He’s doing great here.”
But just because George is happy for the Pacers doesn’t mean the team’s fans are happy for George. Things will be tense and there will be boos on Wednesday night. George said he understands all of that, but is happy that things are going well in Indiana. In fact, he claims that was part of the reason he went to the Pacers front office to tell them he wasn’t coming back in the first place.
George was asked if he had gotten closure from the trade, and he said seeing the Pacers play well with Oladipo has certainly helped.
“Yeah, I did,” George said. “And again it was more so Indiana doing well, where they’re at now. That was closure for me.”
With the Thunder struggling mightily there will be a great sense of schadenfreude in the air of the Pacers can beat the now-hated George, but it doesn’t seem like George will have any extra passion toward taking down his former team. After all, he knows how tough a test they will be.
