Last night, Paul George star forward of the Indiana Pacers was traded for the war-chest of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Oklahoma City Thunder. George has just one year left on his contract and is widely expected to sign with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, but it is too soon to look at that aspect. Here’s a quick look at who the big winners and losers from this confusing blockbuster in the short term.
Winner, Oklahoma City Thunder: The Thunder added a top-ten player in the league for a point guard who can’t consistently shoot in Victor Oladipo who shot 44.2 percent overall and a roughly league average 36.1 percent on threes (League Average is 35.8% beyond the arc) as well as a totally unproven prospect in Domantas Sabonis who has just one season to his name. Even if this trade ends up being a one year rental they did not give up too much.
Loser, Indiana Pacers: While the Pacers were put in a tough position when George torpedoed his own trade value after the season by saying he was going to leave in free agency the Pacers could have done a lot better in this trade if they had managed to land at least a first rounder which would match the disappointing haul that the Chicago Bulls got for Jimmy Butler. Either way, after a brief spurt of post Malice at the Palace competitiveness, it appears Indiana will be tanking for a while.
Winner, Miami Heat: Hear me out, this is a bit of a strange pick but when Boston failed to open it’s treasure trove of draft picks to land a marquee superstar, they may have lessened their grip on a marquee free agent, Gordon Hayward. Part of the marketing that the Boston Celtics were hoping to use in luring Hayward from Utah was that they had a team with Isaiah Thomas, Paul George, and a treasure trove of draft picks (which the jury is still out on). Enter Pat Riley who also has the luxury of an up and coming team, 8 championship rings to show Mr. Hayward, and South Beach. Boston’s selling point other than Hayward’s old coach Brad Stevens, and a defensively challenged point guard? Chowder.
Loser, Boston Celtics: The Celtics are reportedly stunned that this trade went through and Danny Ainge is reportedly kicking himself as he should be. Draft picks are nice to have but it appeared, at least up until last night that they cared more about using those assets to land proven NBA talent. Now they are doing what they have done for two seasons now, selling the future.
There are many other winners and losers that may come out of this trade but these are the biggest fish in the pond.
