NBA Trade Grades: Thunder scoop Paul George from Pacers
Indiana Pacers
All things considered, getting anything for Paul George is better than losing him for nothing next summer. But that certainly doesn’t let the Pacers off the hook here, since it was their inability to put a team around their franchise player that backed them into this corner in the first place.
Beggars can’t be choosers, but when that beggar’s poor life choices landed him on that corner in the first place, you can only feel so sorry for him when his windshield wiping services net him pennies on the dollar.
Cutting to chase, getting two young players is good, but this is a glaringly underwhelming return on a borderline top-10 player. Oladipo is no draft bust, but he’s certainly failed to live up to his billing as a former No. 2 draft pick. He’s a rangy defender and boasts exceptional quickness and athleticism, which should at least keep the unhappy fans at Bankers Field Lifehouse entertained.
Pacers fans trying to digest it all......then think about Lance and Victor on the break.... pic.twitter.com/oNExequJJt
— Michael Grady (@Grady) July 1, 2017
Last season, Oladipo averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, but he didn’t flourish as Russell Westbrook’s right hand man like most expected him to. His mediocre three-point shooting (36.1 percent) didn’t help matters either.
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As for Sabonis, the 21-year-old Lithuanian has potential and only just completed his rookie season, but he tops off as a quality rotation player. In his first year in the league, the rook averaged 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game, shooting a disappointing 39.9 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from three-point range.
Without any first round draft picks attached to aid the rebuild, all the Pacers have to look forward to is a core of Myles Turner, Oladipo, Sabonis and this year’s first round selection, T.J. Leaf, whose skills as a stretch-4 theoretically overlap with Sabonis’ game.
On the one hand, perhaps this truly was the best Indiana could do. With the Celtics being so stingy with their assets (and needing to wait to sign Gordon Hayward before trading for PG-13 anyway) and the Lakers confident they could lure him in free agency next summer, perhaps all other suitors were scared away.
What OKC gave up for George (no picks) an indication of weakness of offers to Indiana. And how afraid teams are that PG will walk next year
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) July 1, 2017
But at the same time, it’s hard to see a Boston team with all of those extra resources not being able to top this offer that doesn’t include a star player, a tantalizing young talent or a draft pick.
The Pacers at least got something for Paul George, but even if Oladipo finally breaks through in year five, and even if Sabonis quickly proves his potential, Indiana still didn’t get enough for a superstar and they didn’t set the franchise on a clear-cut rebuilding course either.
Unfortunately, they have no one to blame but themselves for not constructing this roster better and giving George a reason to stay beyond the money.
Grade: C+