Paul George Reflects on Trade to Thunder, Says Pacers Success Brings Him Closure

Returning to Indiana for the first time since he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder over the summer, Paul George looked back on his final days with the Pacers. 

Speaking to reporters prior to Wednesday's Thunder-Pacers game, George is comfortable with how things played out. 

"I think both sides -- myself and the front office -- would definitely like to have handled things better," he said (via ESPN's Royce Young). "I for sure will take ownership on that. But I have no regrets on the outcome."

George noted that Indiana's success with Victor Oladipo, who was acquired in the trade along with Domantas Sabonis, has given him closure on his time with the Pacers: 

"It's more so of Indiana doing well -- where they're at now, that was closure for me. At the end of the day, when we reached out to the front office to tell them our plans, our future plans, it was to help them along the way, and it was bad at first, so to speak, that they thought with this trade it wasn't gonna pan out. But it obviously did."

Things haven't played out as expected for the Thunder or Pacers since that trade on July 1. 

The Thunder enter Wednesday's game with a 12-14 record, one-half game behind the Utah Jazz for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. 

The Pacers, on the other hand, have been one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises. They occupy the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 16-11 record. Oladipo is averaging career highs in scoring (24.5 per game), rebounding (5.3) and steals (1.8).

George's stats are down across the board from last year. His scoring average has dropped by three points per game (23.7 to 20.6) and his 41.8 field goal percentage matches his lowest in a season when he's played at least 25 games.