NBA Free Agency Rumors: Pacers May Not Go After Paul George If He Doesn't Fit System
Thunder forward Paul George may soon hit the free agent market, but the Pacers might not be interested in re-signing him.
When asked on Tuesday about Indiana's interest in George, Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard told Dan Dakich of ESPN 1070 that the forward might not be a good fit for the team.
"I would want to know first if he would fit us," Pritchard said. "We're different now, Dan. One of the things we're about, we don't care about big names, we don't care about big personalities, we don't care about big brands. What we care about is being humble...
"Anybody that fits in that, yeah we're interested...But if they don't fit in that, I'm not interested."
George played for the Pacers for the first seven seasons of his career before being traded to the Thunder following the 2017 season. George's agent told the Pacers's front office that the forward would not re-sign with the Pacers once he hit free agency, prompting them to trade him to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Pritchard credited Oladipo with possibly having a bigger impact on the Pacers than George.
"I would say Victor and Domantas had more of an impact on what we do than, maybe even Chris (Paul). ... I can't think of any human being that could change an organization, not only from his playing, but from what he's about, than Victor."
Many conflicting reports have emerged about George's future with the Thunder. ESPN's RyenRussillo said that George is as good as gone and will not sign back with the Thunder.
During his exit interview earlier this month, George said he would love to remain a Thunder but would deal with free agency when the time came.
George, 27, can exercise his $20.7 million player option for the 2018-19 season or receive a max deal of $177 million with the Thunder and $132 million elsewhere. He averaged 21.9 points and 5.7 rebounds for the Thunder this season.
