Even though he departed from the team nearly eight years ago, many Indiana Pacers fans have not forgiven Paul George for the way he left the team, opting to not be much of a leader on his way out and seemingly dissing them any chance he can. Now, with his most recent comments, Pacers fans have another reason to hold a grudge against the nine-time All-Star.
On a recent episode of Podcast P, George revealed that he nearly left the Pacers to join Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons.
How Andre Drummond & Reggie Jackson almost convinced PG to join the Pistons 👀 @PrizePicks pic.twitter.com/NgiQXxRuuJ
— Podcast P with Paul George (@PodcastPShow) January 20, 2025
"I actually was thinking about [joining the Pistons] just because obviously [Reggie Jackson] reached out, you (Andre Drummond) reached out, and I'm like, 'that might be a solid three stars right there,'" George said.
"The only thing that I was like ahh, I lived in Indiana. I'm trying to get out of this cold. I'm not trying to leave cold to go cold again, but I do remember that."
Paul George nearly left the Pacers to join the Pistons
George never revealed exactly when these conversations took place, but it is fair to assume it happened in 2017 when he requested a trade away from Indiana.
At the time, the Pistons had just finished with a 37-45 record as the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons had Drummond and Jackson on the team, but they also had Tobias Harris (who was the team's leading scorer) and Marcus Morris. Both players got traded within the next year anyway, so it is likely that they would have been involved in a potential trade for George. In that case, there is a world where Harris ends up on the Pacers instead of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, who they got from the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for George.
From Indiana's perspective, this is a pretty big deal. The Pacers and Pistons have long been legitimate rivals, with the height of their rivalry happening in the early-mid 2000s. Had George forced his way to Detroit, it would have added another element to the rivalry.
Regardless of how his career with the team ended, George remains one of the best players in Pacers history. At his peak with the team, he led the Pacers to back-to-back conference finals appearances and went toe-to-toe with LeBron James and the Miami Heat. Additionally, fans supported and rallied behind him. Knowing that he was close to going directly to arguably their biggest rival in Detroit feels even more like a slap in the face to Pacers fans.
However, all things considered, it ultimately worked out for the Pacers. They got two young stars for George from the Thunder (and were able to get Tyrese Haliburton indirectly through the trade) and are now in a better place than his Philadelphia 76ers and the Pistons are. Even so, this is a difficult story for Pacers fans to hear.