Paul George booed in his return to Indiana
By Tre LyDay
Indiana Pacers fans let Paul George hear it in his return to Indiana.
The Oklahoma City Thunder played the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, and you know what that means. Paul George is returning to where it all began. George spent the first seven years of his career playing for the Pacers. With the help of current Pacer Lance Stephenson they both went to two Eastern Conference Finals, and almost did something no team has been able to do the last seven years. That’s keep LeBron James out of the NBA Finals.
George said he expected to be booed in his return to Indiana, and that’s exactly what happened. Even though George gave them so many great games, even after his gruesome leg injury in the 2014-15 season, Pacers fans let him have it.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/941102762208759808
I guess the fans weren’t too happy when Paul George made it clear that he didn’t plan on re-signing with the team after his contract expires at the end of this season. The decision not to re-sign with the team led to Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard trading George to Oklahoma City.
Pacers fans have to be happy with how the trade has worked out so far this season. Victor Oladipo, whom they acquired from the Thunder, has played at an All-Star level this season. They’re also a pretty fun team to watch. They’re the second best 3-point shooting team in the NBA behind Golden State, and with Lance Stephenson back in town there’s never a dull moment.
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As for George he’s having a pretty good season individually. He’s scoring 20 points a night, he’s averaging a career high in steals, and leads the NBA in deflections. But the Thunders’ struggles as a whole, and Oladipo’s emergence have people thinking that maybe this trade wasn’t as one-sided as originally thought.
Only time will tell who actually “won” this trade, but these two teams have totally different goals. The Thunder want to compete with Golden State, and win a title. The Pacers on the other hand want to continue to develop their young guys, and if they make the playoffs then that’s just icing on the cake.