Paul George wishes things went differently with his Pacers exit

Paul George was traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder this offseason. The terms of his exit left a sour taste in Pacers fans mouth and apparently with George himself.

When the Oklahoma City Thunder took the floor on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers all eyes were on Paul George. The All-Star was drafted by Indiana and spent his first seven seasons there.

This offseason, after he demanded a trade, the Pacers shipped George to the Thunder. Indiana received Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in exchange for the three-time All-NBA forward. Both are young players who have promise but not the type of building block you would expect in return for a superstar player of George’s caliber.

Pacers fans were upset with George. A trade demand made in public kills a teams leverage. After a return that some deemed lackluster, the fingers were pointed right at George.

George got what he wanted in the end by joining Oklahoma City. He can fit comfortably next to league MVP Russell Westbrook and former All-Star Carmelo Anthony. The Thunder are set up to have a promising season while the Pacers are looking at a potential lottery pick.

The Indianapolis Star reported that George understands the frustration and wish he would have done things differently.  He was quoted in an interview saying such. 

"“Obviously, I’m human. Things could have been done a lot better. The process, that whole ordeal could have been done a lot better. I’ll share some of that responsibility. But at the end of the day, I did what was best for myself, what was best for my family. I had to move on. It was the right decision for myself. I’m happy. I’m happy with what the results were.”"

Pacers coach Nate McMillan seems to believe that the move fits George. He never adapted to the role of leader that the Pacers wanted him to become. In the same article McMillan was quoted talking about George’s leadership.

"“You have to be yourself, and not try to be something that you’re not. I think Paul just wanted to play. The leadership, and the captain, and all of that? Sometimes people put you in that position because of your status. I think his thing was, ‘You take care of you, and I take care of me. Get yourself ready to play.’ Going to OKC, he’s back in that role of – I play. The leader is going to be Westbrook. I can go here and play.”"

McMillan now gets tasked finding a replacement for George. Oladipo is young but may blossom into the role. It was only four years ago he was drafted second overall as a promising two-way player.  If the first few games are indicative of how he will be playing the results are excellent.

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The Pacers fan will embrace Oladipo, who played collegiate at Indiana University, but they will miss George. As Indiana embarks on a rebuild, they’ll watch someone they drafted and saw grow into an All-NBA player thrive; that hurts.