The Indiana Pacers have had a tumultuous start to their season. Their current 13-14 record is far from what brand new head coach Nate McMillan and company expected before the season. Though, they’ve been without superstar Paul George due to an ankle injury for a part of the campaign, which hasn’t stopped trade rumors from swirling around the franchise. In fact, many of them have even been involving George.
Obviously, if George were indeed on the market, it’d be hard not to be interested as he is one of the premier young superstars in the association. His 6’9″ height at the wing position allows great versatility on the offensive and defensive end. However, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, there is no substance to the trade rumors:
“I know teams have been calling Indiana and asking about Paul George and the answer is absolutely, positively no,” said Wojnarowski about a possible trade. “‘He’s not available, there’s no conversation to be had, don’t even make offers to us. We’re not moving Paul George.'”
The denial of any trade interest from the Pacers organization regarding their franchise centerpiece shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. However, Wojnarowski discusses the possibility of the Pacers still making a move via trade:
“Their mindset in Indiana is to continue to try to build around Paul George and Myles Turner and try to find a combination around them that will get Paul to want to re-sign and stay there.
That being said, I think the Pacers are very much open for business with almost everybody else. I believe that they’re in a place where they’re willing to go out and try to find some guys to put around him.”
If George was indeed to be traded, I think it would leave many across the NBA scratching their heads. Thankfully, those rumors have been put to bed. A trade around another Indiana role player certainly isn’t out of the question, however, especially considering their preseason expectations of being a serious Eastern Conference threat has resulted in a relatively pedestrian start.
