Superstar forward Paul George has already informed the Pacers that he plans to leave the franchise next summer, as reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. George reportedly wants to join his hometown Los Angeles Lakers (He grew up in Palmdale, California) in 2018 free tagency. This was one of the worst-kept secrets in the NBA considering every single executive seems to have known something like this was not only a possibility, but a real one too. Now the Pacers have to face the reality and they can’t really blame Paul George for this. The writing was on the wall for a long time and Indiana simply ignored it.
When Larry Bird stepped down from his position at the end of April, the end of Paul George era in Indianapolis was already near. The forward had been pushing for a trade and in February, at the deadline, his time with the team looked over. But Larry Bird, as did many others in the front office, refused to accept the reality of things and reportedly rejected a big offer from the Atlanta Hawks, that would have included three future first-round picks. After rejecting an offer like that, the Pacers could possibly land a better deal, but nothing is certain because of Paul George’s openness about his future.
Bird left his office and now Kevin Pritchard is in a tough position. Everybody in the league knows that Paul George is not gonna re-sign with the Pacers and that wants to join the Lakers in the next free-agency. No team will offer multiple first-rounders for a rental. It’s the same story for the Lakers too. They know that George is gonna walk to LA in the next free agency, so why make a big time offer now? They can just wait and let him come to them or offer a low-risk package of players, without including any kind of future compensation.
One question remains, however. How could the Pacers could have been so blind in this situation?
Back in February, Paul George said in an interview with ESPN Radio that wanted to play for a championship team, and that playing only for the stats wasn’t his thing. After a statement like that, Bird had only one thing to do: trade Paul George. But the Pacers’ lead executive didn’t trade George. He tried to go on with the illusion that George would somehow change his mind and stay with the team. But George had no reason to plan a long-term stay in Indianapolis.
In two consecutive seasons, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, Bird and his staff failed to bring any kind of impact player to the roster. After dismantling the old version of the smash-mouth team, Bird became convinced that their only way to compete was to go small and play at a faster pace, trying to imitate, in some ways, the Warriors. In 2015-2016 the main additions to the roster were Monta Ellis, Jordan Hill, and Chase Budinger. Hill and Budinger barely played and left the team at the end of the season, while Ellis struggled to keep his traditional scoring numbers. Last summer, Bird traded George Hill, probably Paul George’s best friend on the team, to acquire Jeff Teague from the Hawks. Teague struggled to integrate with Ellis throughout the season, especially on the defensive side, while the other additions to the roster, such as Thad Young and Al Jefferson, weren’t enough to make the Pacers a real competitive team in the East.
Bird also decided to let Frank Vogel go and hired Nate McMillan as head coach to give a boost to the pace of the team. But during his history as a head coach, McMillan never really built a fast paced offense, always finishing at the bottom of the league in that category.
George complained during the season, clearly admitting that he wasn’t having fun on the court.
“It’s been one of the most frustrating seasons I’ve been a part of,”
Despite all these signals and statements, Bird didn’t trade George and wasn’t able to find some real help for him at the trade deadline. His only move was signing Lance Stephenson to a three-year deal at the end of regular season, not exactly the kind of move that makes you a contender in the Eastern Conference. Now George has made it clear that he’s not gonna stay with the team and will leave next summer if the Pacers won’t trade him before.
Paul George’s journey is going to have a predictable end that the Pacers pretended not to see. Paul George’s era in Indianapolis is over, or at least will be over at the end of next season. And the rebuilding process for Indiana won’t be easy at all, mostly for their own faults.
