Twitter reacts to the Paul George trade
By Ryan Eggers
Naturally, Twitter had a lot to say about this Paul George trade.
It finally happened. At 9:41 EST, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne fired off the Tweet heard round the world:
The Paul George era is over. He’s now a member of the Thunder. And what will the Pacers be receiving in return?
Hearing Oladipo and Sabonis going to Indy
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 1, 2017
And the reviews? Somewhat mixed, but overwhelmingly negative.
No other way to say it: Pacers botched this worse than imaginable. Got a bucket of meh back for trading the best player in their NBA history
— Jared Wade (@Jared_Wade) July 1, 2017
This is the best the Pacers could do? What the? https://t.co/I2DQxlXRPp
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) July 1, 2017
Unbelievable. https://t.co/vMMOGiGbzQ
— Jon R. LaFollette (@JonLawFilet) July 1, 2017
If this is JUST Oladipo and Sabonis for Paul George, are you happy with the trade?
— Dave “Mortgages” Searle (@MillerTimePod) July 1, 2017
Sure, the Pacers aren’t getting back anything close to the value of George, but expectations were obviously a little low considering his desire to go to LA next summer. In some people’s minds, the return wasn’t half bad. Well, by some people, I mean IU fans.
Welcome home, @VicOladipo
— Chronic Hoosier (@ChronicHoosier) July 1, 2017
And of course, it is rational to think that the Pacers probably weren’t going to come across an amazing offer anyway.
Again - you can't rate this "talent for talent"....
— Michael Grady (@Grady) July 1, 2017
The Pacers were never going to get equal talent for Paul with zero leverage.
But, in true Danny Ainge fashion, a leak of the offer the Celtics gave on draft night came out. And it was good.
Celtics offer on draft night for Paul George, per league source, was 3 first-round picks (not the Nets pick next... https://t.co/ItE6PTulen
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) July 1, 2017
Why would Pritchard say no? It’s very possible that the offer is fake, but then again, maybe Pritch really is holding a grudge.
Would be funny if Pritchard's reason for PG trade was, "You don't like being on a non contender in a small city? Well watch this dickhead!"
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 1, 2017
Either way, though, Ainge once again missed out on nabbing a star despite his abundance of assets.
The aftermath? An OKC team to be excited about…
…and an eastern conference that just looks downright ugly.
With Paul George moving West, only 1 of the top 14 players in last year’s #NBARank will be in the Eastern Conference. pic.twitter.com/xmexPKuWxB
— ESPN (@espn) July 1, 2017
Playoffs spots are opening up hehehehe #TheProcess
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 1, 2017
Allright can we just fusion the east and the west, it's gettin too unbalanced lol
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) July 1, 2017
Thanks for the tweets reporting the "theft" of Paul George by @okcthunder.
— Oklahoma City Police (@OKCPD) July 1, 2017
Our investigative findings: totally legal & very savvy.
Oh, and one more thing. The team is now in the hands of:
Myles Turner: pic.twitter.com/jrrfVTqszZ
— 8 Points, 9 Seconds (@8pts9secs) June 29, 2017
It’s been quite a night, and free agency hasn’t even started yet. Real thought-out opinions on the trade will emerge soon, but for now, just soak in the Twitter madness.
Unless you’re watching Baby Driver.
Just got out of the movies. Did I miss anything?
— Jon R. LaFollette (@JonLawFilet) July 1, 2017