Paul George Wants To Stay… If the Indiana Pacers Are Contenders
By Ben Gibson
Paul George has told Indiana Pacers ownership he wants to stay if the team can contend for an NBA title according to USA Today’s Sam Amick.
Despite the rumors, Paul George wants to stay with the Indiana Pacers and win a championship.
Good news, right?
Well, that comes with the caveat that the Pacers are contenders for the NBA title, not merely a team fighting for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference while LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers go to the Finals every season.
According to USA Today’s Sam Amick, George told team owner Herb Simon this recently. The source was anonymous, but this echoes what we’ve heard from Paul George as of late.
"But like so many things this time of year, when the phones are ringing off the hook in NBA offices as the trade deadline nears, the situation between the four-time All-Star and his Indiana Pacers is racked with nuance. So when George met with team owner Herb Simon in recent days and told him that the Hoosier state was still the place for him, how he would love nothing more than to eventually go down as the greatest Pacer of them all, it came with one qualifier.If they can contend for a title."
So, understandably, Paul George wants to play for a contender. It doesn’t seem like loyalty is so much the question as it is whether the Pacers have a future of relevancy. For myself, loyalty in sports doesn’t mean dogged dedication to one team.
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Winning is the key. Paul George doesn’t want to just play basketball, he wants to win titles. He wants to do it in Indiana, but the Pacers have to prove that that’s possible. Only if your definition of loyalty is one in which only Paul George is required to commit to the Pacers — and not the Pacers to winning a title — only then is George not loyal. Very few fans consider Kevin Garnett disloyal after spending years with the Minnesota Timberwolves before leaving to chase a title with the Boston Celtics. With George’s two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, rehabbing and returning after breaking his leg, and putting the team on his back from time to time, it is hard to demand much more out of the 26-year old.
It is easy to forget that professional sports teams are businesses, and not every owner is willing to lose money in the process of chasing a title. For some, profitability matters more than winning. Where Simon falls on that spectrum at the moment isn’t known. He’s been willing to spend in the past but also hesitant to pay the luxury tax on teams that aren’t likely to contend.
Another thing worth considering is we don’t know who Adrian Wojnarowski’s source is. This could be smoke coming from Los Angeles as Magic Johnson wants to make the Lakers a player in free agency — and possiblely Paul George’s — going forward. But even then as the Lake Show’s Christan Rivas points out, the Lakers might be better off waiting until next year when PG is likely a free agent after next season and hope to sign him then.
Next: Monta Ellis: The Unmasking
In 24 hours, we will know whether Paul George’s future remains in Indiana for at least one more season. If the Pacers think they can’t keep him around in the long-term, then it makes sense they’re exploring what a future without him might look like.