NBA: Paul George Traded to the Thunder

Paul George, a four-time NBA All-Star, has been on the trading block for nearly two seasons, and he is finally out of the Indiana Pacers organization, after being traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, in return for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. George has been open about his desire to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, which he'll be able to do next summer when he is a free agent, but in the mean time, he'll be paired up with NBA MVP Russell Westbrook.

According to multiple sources, the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Clippers, and possibly more, were calling the Pacers, attempting to line up a trade that would work for both sides. It's difficult to imagine that the deal Oklahoma City worked out was the best available. Apparently, the reason the Pacers went away from the Celtics' offer was because neither Jayson Tatum nor Jaylen Brown were part of the possible exchange.

Going forward, the Pacers are likely to hit the restart button and rebuild, especially now since both George and point guard, Jeff Teague, are headed elsewhere. Teague signed a 3-year contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. As for the Thunder, they have improved their team, and if able to sign one more solid free agent, they'll be favored to be a top-5 seed in the Western Conference.

A lineup of Westbrook, Andre Roberson, George, Taj Gibson, and Steven Adams is good, but there is certainly room for even more improvement, so if either Roberson or Gibson can be replaced with an All-Star level player, or someone near that caliber, then Sam Presti and Billy Donovan will be even more pleased than they already are. But for now, the George trade is the biggest transaction the league has seen since Kevin Durant left the Thunder for the Golden State Warriors on July 4 last year.

Photo Credit: SportsCenter.