Inside Paul George's thinking after warning Pacers about intentions
Paul George has senioritis.
Not the kind where you forget things and have to head for the restroom more than ever before, but the type where you only have so much time left in a certain situation and want to have a good time before the next chapter arrives. With one year left on his contract with the Indiana Pacers, George has one eye on the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency in the summer of 2018 and the other on the current possibilities that are more enticing than maintaining mediocrity with his current team.
But no matter what Indiana general manager Kevin Pritchard says – and his claim last week that this was a “gut punch” made it seem as if they were somehow blindsided – this was no surprise for the Pacers. As superstar exits go, this was as telegraphed as they come.
USA TODAY Sports talked with two people who have knowledge of George's situation. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions, provided insight into George's thinking throughout the process.
Whether George gets traded soon, he gave the Pacers all sorts of time to make sure they didn’t lose him for nothing. This wasn’t Kevin Durant 2.0, with the “hometown” team being told so many times that the star would likely be back only to see him head for the exits. This was a transparent approach to a business decision.
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George met with Pacers owner Herb Simon just before the February trade deadline and delivered a direct message. While he badly wanted to contend for a title with the Pacers, George told Simon he was likely headed for Laker Land if that prospect didn’t look attainable when his contract expired.
Anyone with an objective eye could see that the Pacers were several unlikely moves away from saving this situation. Still, with Larry Bird running the front office at the time before stepping aside and the Pacers holding out hope that George would qualify for the designated player extension that he would later miss out on, no deal was done before the deadline. George, who bristled every time the Pacers made roster moves that he wouldn’t hear about until the deals were done, was clearly displeased again.
"I was kind of on the ropes (during the trade deadline) just like you guys (in the media) were on what was about to happen," George told reporters. "It's kind of a dark moment, a lot of uncertainty. That was the frustrating part. You want me to be your guy here, I thought I'd be in the loop a little more on that."
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George reiterated his stance nearly a week before the Thursday draft, informing Pritchard by way of his agent that he did not plan on re-signing with the Pacers. Alas, another key date came and went without a deal going down. And now, with the prospect of George being dealt to teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics that would have a puncher’s chance of keeping him around next summer, the pressure rises yet again for the Pacers to make sure they get something in return.
George, meanwhile, finds himself at a crossroads.
Hell-bent as he is on signing with the Lakers, George also won’t close a window of opportunity. So if the Cavs can convince Pritchard to either take on four-time All-Star forward Kevin Love or send him to a third team in exchange for more suitable assets, then George will play his heart out alongside LeBron James and remain open to the idea of re-signing next summer if James were also to return. Or, perhaps, George could leave for Los Angeles with James at his side.
Ditto for the Celtics or the San Antonio Spurs, teams that could fulfill George’s desire for title contention and thus put themselves in the running. And should the Lakers come along and trade for him early to ensure he doesn’t fall in love with another team, then so be it.
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George hasn’t been shy about playing general manager, recruiting players to teams that he might join with the hopes of seeing how the stars align. (To make it clear, this extends beyond the Lakers possibility.) There’s no harm in this approach, in part because tampering rules don’t apply to players yet also because there’s always a chance the puzzle pieces fall perfectly into place. Welcome to today’s NBA, where the most prominent players hold so much of the power.
For the Pacers’ part, they’ve known for months now that George was ready to try something new and that the time had come to stomach one of these less-than-perfect trades. It’s gut-wrenching more than it is a gut punch, the kind of painful process that they had always hoped to avoid.
But he warned them at every turn, gave them the kind of clues that so many teams are never afforded in these kinds of superstar sagas. Now, of course, it’s time to make the best of a tough situation.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick on Twitter @Sam_Amick.
