Paul George’s time with the Indiana Pacers ended in a fairly messy split, but it turns out that he may have had good reason for handling things like he did.
Appearing this week on the “Knuckleheads” podcast, the LA Clippers star revealed why he asked for a trade from the Pacers in the summer of 2017.
“I ain’t gon’ say the names, because I’m going to keep their business private, I’ma just say it like this,” George said, according to RealGM. “I had at the time, the best power forward saying he wanted to come to Indy and team up with me. They’re like, ‘We’re a mid-major, we’re a small market, like, we can’t do it … we can’t afford that.’ I’m like the best power forward wants to come play here, like, y’all can’t make that work? They didn’t want to do it.
“So I’m like, now I’m pissed, because it’s like, what am I doing here? You know what I mean? They don’t want to win,” the six-time All-Star continued. “I’ve got the best power forward that wants to come play here. Not everybody chooses Indy to come play here.”
George did not reveal who the player was, though a Pacers reporter says the player was Anthony Davis. Davis was not a free agent at the time and would have cost the team a lot in trade compensation, with no promises of him re-signing, so the team’s reluctant to make a trade was understandable.
George butted heads with the Pacers over their desire to play him at the power forward spot. The team declining a chance to add a top talent at that very same position might very well have been the last straw for George.
George ended up demanding a trade and was dealt to the Thunder. He later demanded a trade from OKC and was dealt to the Clippers last summer.
