Paul George was not named to an All-NBA team. Time to panic?

The 2017 All-NBA teams were released on Thursday, and Paul George’s name wasn’t among them, clouding a future with the Indiana Pacers that already wasn’t clear.

Sing no sad songs, friends.

We knew that the odds weren’t great, but a glimmer of hope remained that Paul George would be named to an All-NBA team for the 2016-2017 season. As of Thursday afternoon, that last glimmer of hope has been crushed.

As we all know by now, George has to make an All-NBA team this year or next year to be eligible for the Designated Veteran Player Extension, which would allow him to be paid like a max player with 10 years of experience. George’s salary would be able to take up to 35 percent of the salary cap in this scenario, and could surpass $200 million over five years. In other words, it’s a lot of money, and such a payday would only be possible with the Pacers.

George’s absence from the above list makes things even more nerve wracking for Pacers fans, and it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience before today. The Jimmy Kimmel segment, the Bleacher Report mention and now this announcement seems to be closing the door further and further on a Pacers future that includes Paul George.

Indiana can still offer George a fifth year on his next contract and higher annual raises than any other team, so they still technically have an advantage over everyone else. It’s unlikely that we’ll get to that place, however, since a contract negotiation involving that fifth year wouldn’t be able to take place until the 2018 offseason. Kevin Pritchard is almost sure to make a move by then, or else he’d be risking losing George for nothing.

Next: Did Paul George just signal his exit from the Indiana Pacers?

The Paul George era may be coming to a close, but we’ll always have the memories.