Report: Pacers offered Paul George to Warriors for Klay Thompson

The Golden State Warriors could have broken the NBA again this offseason.

In Thursday’s episode of his self-titled podcast, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had Paul George as a guest and reported that the Indiana Pacers offered George to the Golden State Warriors for Klay Thompson but were rebuffed.

“I think that would’ve been the Chris Paul to LA situation where they denied that trade,” said George in response. “Yeah, I was aware of it. I would’ve looked forward to it of just being in a good situation and a chance to compete for a championship, but it didn’t happen. It’s still fun to team up with a special talent and have a chance to compete against that team.

George was ultimately dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder instead for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis and now gets to try and dethrone the Dubs alongside Russell Westbrook (a.k.a. the aforementioned “special talent”).

While it is interesting that such an offer was on the table (especially given George’s reported desire to team up with Thompson down the line), it was probably a no-brainer for Golden State to turn down. Thompson is under contract for longer, is a better fit with their roster, and is a true core member of a team set to defend their second NBA title in the last three seasons. Nevertheless, it’s still fun to fantasize about the utter leaguewide chaos that George being traded to the Warriors would have inevitably triggered.