Paul George Trade Verses the Melo Trade

[boomershadow]

Who do you think did better? I personally prefer Oladipo and Sabonis to Kanter and McDermott, but there was also a pretty decent amount of surprise that we couldn't even get a draft pick included in PG's return package.

Any opinions?

[HoopsMalone]

Well yeah oladipo is easily the better player than kanter. And sabonis is still at least a prospect unlike McDermott who we know is bad.

The difference is oladipo contract isn't pretty. And George had a lot more value on a 1 year reasonable deal than melo does getting overpaid for 2 potentially

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[basketballwacko2]

I thought the Pacers would get at least 1 #1 pick, but Olidipo and Sabonis are better than McD and Kanter. I would have thought they might put Al Jefferson in the deal and get Kanter as well but, that didn't happen.

[Pacersike]

I've read somewhere that the Pacers were insisting that Sabonis had to be included so maybe the Thunder were offering picks together with Oladipo and maybe as soon as the Thunder were willing to include Sabonis, Pritchard pulled the trigger. It could explain the rather strange timing of the trade.

People call me crazy all the time, but I find what the Pacers got for PG also better than what the Cavs got for Kyrie Irving.
Every team has different needs. The Pacers needed a new creator type of player. Oladipo is such a player, though a low efficient, low ceiling one. Sabonis is a good fit next to Turner. He is strong, short, tough, can put the ball on the floor. Was a great rebounder in college.

I don't want the Pacers to pay Isaiah Thomas silly money. Crowder even though a great roleplayer, is just a roleplayer and not a creator like Dipo. The Brooklyn pick is great value, but it will take almost 2 more years before we can even get a glimpse of how good that player can be. If he is not a bust and if he wants to get drafted by Indiana (pretty sure Lonzo Ball would pull a Paul George on us before the draft). It's all an unknown.

We know Oladipo is a decent player, we know Sabonis is a capable defender. That's what is going to keep this franchise alive.
The Pacers could have traded Myles Turner for one of those traded star players. To help Paul George.
But in the end, I rather not depend on star players taking decisions to stay or not to stay, especially not if those star players have proven that they lack maturity.

Presti is likely going to win gm of the year, but 1 player taking 1 decision could make it all look bad this time next year.
The Pacers played it safe and I'm glad they did that. The only thing bothering me is that the Pacers might have been able to get more if Paul George and his agent hadn't told every team that he would very much likely be a 1 year rental, going to the Lakers.
The return wasn't great, but it is what the Pacers need.

With all those stats on the internet, people seem to forget how hard it is to create opportunities to score the basketball.
You don't win a title without offensive efficiency, but without creators, you don't even make the playoffs.
Players like Oladipo and Ellis get their salaries for a reason. Sure, they have a first round playoffs ceiling, but they make life much easier for their teammates. The Orlando Magic thought Elfrid Peyton could take care of that and look what happened to them.
Creating comes first, efficiency comes later. The Pacers needed a creator like Dipo, not an injured one like Thomas or a "let's draft him next year" one.

Every team is different, so while we Pacer fans can compare what we think is best in return for Paul George, every other fan trying to compare the Irving trade with the Anthony trade or the PG trade, is comparing apples with oranges. Of course the Knicks don't want a mediocre player like Oladipo and his contract. They are the NEW YORK Knicks. This here is Indiana. Mediocre players who grew up better than everyone was expecting, is in our identity. One mediocre player is not going to make a difference, but a bunch of them, can. Especially if they want to fight hard and work hard. Blue collar gold swagger. One way or another, I have missed that in the last 2 years. Perhaps the leader of both teams had something to do with that.

[tocooks101]

I think the Knicks did a bit better, as Melo had significantly less value than PG. At the end of the day neither player netted a huge return as both teams probably hung onto their guys a bit too long.