Every team loses its star eventually. Whether through retirement or trade, nothing lasts forever for any franchise and their superstar players.
Paul George had a great run with the Indiana Pacers, leading the team to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals and constant relevance. The broken leg that robbed him of his 2015 season and forced him to come along slowly in 2016 seemingly derailed the Pacers. Their two-big lineups slowly got phased out in a NBA that demanded more speed and versatility. The Pacers adjusted.
But George was always the ace in the hole. And he seemingly single-handedly pulled the Pacers into the playoff conversation last year, averaging 23.7 points per game on a 53.4 percent effective field goal percentage. George was back to being an All Star.
And with his free agency looming, George did what all superstars seem to do today. They exercised their power and began putting out indications he would not return in free agency. And the Pacers, tampering from the Los Angeles Lakers or not, did what every small-market team in their situation had to do, they made a trade to reset their franchise.
George had clearly boxed them in. All the noise surrounding him had him leaving for the Lakers (tampering or not, again) after this season and few teams were willing to take the risk. The Indiana Pacers either did the best they could or stumbled in this game of chicken by trading Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Ever since the Dwight Howard fiasco with the Orlando Magic, teams have looked to move on before things fester. When a relationship is dead, there is no point saving it or trying to revive it. The Pacers decided to move on and get whatever they could to prepare for their season.
Where does that leave the Pacers? Is this team preparing to do a complete rebuild and start things over or can they move on with what they have?
There are plenty of examples of teams trading their stars and starting completely over. That has never been the Pacers’ plan. Indiana has missed the playoffs just six times since 1990. The team has never picked higher than 10th since 1996 (Erick Dampier in 1996 and Paul George in 2010). This has always been a team that has rebounded quickly and stayed at least playoff relevant.
The Pacers’ trade brought in two young players who have shown flashes in their short careers but really do more to support the big player they already have. Attention turns toward the player who becomes the heir apparent to George’s star mantle.
Myles Turner has had a solid career to this point. He averaged 14.5 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game in his second season. The Pacers slowly let him grow and gain confidence in his rookie year, easing him into the starting lineup. Last year they looked to continue growing his talent as a full-time starter.
Turner showed plenty of versatility as someone who could step out and hit jumpers — and the occasional 3-pointer — and improved defensive mobility. But he always had the security blanket of George there as the star. Turner did not need to score much more than 15 points per game. George sucked up all the oxygen.
That safety valve is not there. The Pacers are forced to turn things over to Turner completely now. They are going to ask him to be their star. Turner’s season-high last year was his 30-point performance in the season opener against the Dallas Mavericks. He scored 20 or more points just 15 times last year.
That will all change now. Turner will take more shots and get more scoring opportunities. The Pacers are going to hand him the reigns completely. They will know by the end of this season whether Turner is a player they can build around. He fits the new-wave of playmaking, versatile centers.
He will have help from a young player like Victor Oladipo, who averaged 15.9 points per game last year with the Oklahoma City Thunder. This a year after he averaged 16.0 points per game with the Orlando Magic as the focal point of that offense.
In his short career, Oladipo has shown he can score in bunches. He improved as a 3-point shooter last year playing in Russell Westbrook’s shadow. But his best skill is getting to the basket off the dribble or in pick-and-rolls. It is only from there that his issues arise — he shot 58.9 percent in the restricted area according to NBA.com after shooting 56.0 percent on such shots the year before.
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Oladipo and Turner present an intriguing pick-and-roll duo, especially since Turner can comfortably step out and hit the jumper. Indiana has never stayed down too long and this is a team that still has Playoff aspirations. The path will be much tougher.
The entire focus will be on the young player they are banking on to replace George on that star pedestal. Myles Turner is next in line for the Pacers.
He has had a slow development through his first two years. Changes to the team’s makeup will push Turner into the spotlight more. Ready or not, the Pacers are his team now.