Paul George does not seem happy with upper management after being involved in trade rumors
Paul George was a hot commodity during this year’s NBA Trade Deadline. Throughout the deadline George’s name popped up as a player the Indiana Pacers were shopping, and it made sense in theory. George’s free agency is soon approaching and it wasn’t the worst idea by Indiana to get ahead of a potential loss and try to get a decent return on their star player. However, when that decision is made it can lead to a negative situation for the Pacers when they decide to not deal George at the end of the deadline.
Indiana is already experiencing some of that today. Following the deadline, George was asked by reporters what he thought about being involved in so many rumors today. Considering how long George has been around he could have easily coach talked his way out of this one, but he had something he needed to get off his chest. He wasn’t too thrilled.
“You want me to be your guy here, thought I would have been a little more in the loop on trade talks,” is not a great statement to be hearing from your star player following the deadline. Players understand rumors happen, but George was very clearly hurt that he didn’t know more about what was going on throughout the discussions. It’s his career and a player of his caliber wants control over what’s happening. We obviously don’t know how much he was communicating with the front office today, but they should have made stronger efforts to keep him in the loop.
The only time a player would ever tell the media about something like this is if they feel very strongly about what they’re saying and want to make sure everybody knows it. Considering George’s reported desire to one day play in Los Angeles, the Pacers need to take a statement like this very seriously.