Indiana Pacers Get Multiple Offers for Paul George During the Draft
There are some who say that Paul George did the right thing by informing the Indiana Pacers that he wants to move on and sign with the Los Angeles Lakers next summer. This way, at least the team won't be caught off guard unlike what happened when LeBron James left Cleveland and went to Miami in 2010.
Unfortunately, word got out and his desire to leave became public. Now everybody knows what he wants to do when his current contract ends next year.
The Pacers aren't just going to let him leave without getting something back in return, so they have been shopping him around in the days leading up to the draft. However, they opted not to move him on draft night because they didn't receive a deal they liked.
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"We looked at a lot of things that included draft picks, but at the end of the day there's so much other stuff that doesn't include draft picks that we decided to stay put and look at everything that's on the board in the future. We're not going to make a bad deal. We want to get what we want," Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said after the draft, via ESPN.
During the interview, Pritchard also mentioned that it felt like a "gut punch" when George informed the Pacers of his decision and he said they could have been more prepared if they knew it months ago.
Well, some basketball enthusiasts would argue that they should have seen this coming months ago. The signs were there and they had a chance to trade him at the trade deadline in February.
Instead, the Pacers decided to hold on to him because they thought they could entice him to stay by offering him a super-max deal if he makes an All-NBA team. Unfortunately, George didn't make the cut for any of the three All-NBA teams.
The Pacers still have a lot of time to trade him, though, but his value could have been higher if they move him back in February.
