Happy birthday Kevin Pritchard: his five best moves with the Pacers

Trading Paul George for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis

What is there to be said that hasn’t been said already? When Larry Bird announced his retirement, Pritchard had big shoes to fill, and a big job to do. He entered the President position with a disgruntled star — a star who was set on going to Los Angeles when his contract ended the next season.

George’s trade value was sunk. No one wanted a rental. At best, it seemed like the Pacers were going to have to send him to Los Angeles for whatever they would take to get PG a year early. And then the trade heard round the world happened: Paul George was going to Oklahoma City in return for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

And almost everyone, myself included, laughed at Pritchard. No draft picks? A player who had a horrible rookie season and a young guy who hasn’t made much of an impact in the NBA? Where’s my Brandon Ingram?

All apologies to the birthday boy. Oladipo has emerged as one of the NBA’s premiere guards, notching an all-NBA selection and Most Improved Player award in his first season with the team. Sabonis finished second in the Sixth Man award this year and got a few Most Improved Player votes himself. He’s primed to become half of a tall and skilled frontcourt duo with Turner.

And this Tweet will forever go down in infamy:

Two years and two OKC first-round exits later, Paul George finally did make his way to Los Angeles — with the Clippers. Funny how life works out, huh? Meanwhile, the Pacers still have both key pieces from their young core (Oladipo, at 27, is the oldest player on the roster!), and two years later, the trade couldn’t look better for Pritchard.

It was the move that made him The Man on the Pacers. It was the move that began the new era of Pacers basketball. Thank you, Kevin Pritchard. And have a very happy birthday.