The Indiana Pacers are in the conference finals for the second straight year, and they have a lot of players to thank. And, despite being gone from the team for eight years, Pacers fans can partially thank former franchise star Paul George, who left somewhat of an impact on the current team because of the pieces that the team got from trading him.
For seven years, George was a top player in the league as a member of the Pacers. With the team, he was a four-time All-Star, a three-time All-NBA player, and an MVP candidate. George also won the Most Improved Player award for the 2012-13 season. Amidst all of his accolades in Indiana, however, none of them were as important as leading the Pacers to two consecutive conference finals appearances in 2013 and 2014.
Despite having success as a Pacer, George's tenure with the team ended on a sour note, and they shipped him out to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2017. This trade took place nearly a decade ago, but the Pacers are still reaping the benefits of it, so in a twisted way, the Pacers should give some credit to George for their most recent conference finals appearance.
The Paul George trade has aged beautifully for Indiana
When they traded George, the Pacers acquired Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis from the Thunder. Both players were successful in Indiana in their own right, but what they became as trade chips is far more important.
In 2021, the Pacers traded Oladipo to the Houston Rockets as part of the blockbuster James Harden trade that sent him to the Brooklyn Nets. The Pacers got Caris LeVert in return, who they eventually flipped for Ricky Rubio and two draft picks. Who did the Pacers get with those picks? Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard.
As for Sabonis, his story is far more memorable as the Pacers traded him to the Sacramento Kings in 2022 for Tyrese Haliburton, who is the heart of the current iteration of the team. Sabonis is still a fantastic player, but trading him for Haliburton was an absolutely brilliant move for Indiana.
At the time of the trade, nobody was surprised about the Pacers moving on from George. The writing was on the wall, and he did not adapt well to his leadership role. Furthermore, given what the Pacers got out of the trade so far, this deal worked out great for the team in more ways than one.
The Pacers are just four games away from making the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, and fans have all the reasons in the world to be excited about their outlook. As the Pacers look to bring an NBA title to Indiana, fans will be all in on the players taking the court, but at least to some extent, it is important to remember the players that came before, even if things did not end too well.