Apparently, the Golden State warriors were in a position to shock the NBA world yet again. The Warriors could have traded for none other than ... Paul George! ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported that the Indiana Pacers had offered to trade George in exchange for Klay Thompson. The trade talks did not progress once the Warriors refused to include Thompson in the potential deal.
Imagining the Warriors with George
Can you imagine what it would have been like if the Warriors had been able to convince the Pacers to take other less relevant players?
Can you imagine watching Paul George, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, and Klay Thompson all in the same team? Curry would run the point, Thompson would be the shooting guard, George would play the small forward position, Durant would be their power forward, and Green would establish himself as the center. How would this team ever lose?
It would be unfair for any opposing team to have to match up against these guys. Well, it is already unfair for any opposing team to have to match up against the current Warriors. If the Warriors are already ridiculously stronger than most NBA teams right now, adding George would have only made the NBA more lopsided and, consequently, hurt the image of the league. It's one thing to have a super-team and another to have a "super" super-team.
The NBA needs its talents to be distributed among different teams in the league. This is already an issue if one assesses the weak state of the eastern conference in comparison with the quality of teams and players in the western conference.
Warriors better off with Thompson
Should the Warriors have accepted such a deal? The Warriors made the right decision.
While many still strongly believe that George is currently on a one-year rental with the Oklahoma City Thunder, if he had joined the Warriors he would have most probably re-signed with them. George would have fallen in love with winning, and that trumps anything else, even a dream of playing for his home team Los Angeles Lakers.
The Warriors need Thompson more than George. Thompson is their defensive anchor on the perimeter. And, once they face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA finals, and it still looks like the Cavs will face no obstacles on their way to the finals yet another year, Thompson's services turn invaluable as he has to guard the offensive genius that is Kyrie Irving. In addition, his three-point shooting and ability to get red hot with little effort is unmatched. Let me remind you that he scored 60 points on 11 dribbles.
George needs the ball in his hands more often, and with Curry and Durant on his team, that would have created some issues. Thompson perfectly understands his role as an off-ball scorer.
In addition, George's addition would have pushed Green to play center, and that would have limited the Warriors' length, rim protection, and defense against bigger centers in the post.
The Warriors would have completed the biggest heist probably in NBA history, especially if they had taken advantage of the Pacers' desperation and given them a player like Andre Iguodala and some young talent. Would the NBA have blocked such a trade? George seems to think so when he was asked in an interview for Norman Transcript's Fred Katz. George is now stuck in Oklahoma City, although he will continue to profess his happiness to be there. It does not look like he will win an NBA title next year, for the OKC roster lacks a quality supporting cast. Maybe George is destined to end up with the Lakers after all.
