Reflecting on NBA Twitter's scathing reaction to Paul George trade
Oh, how times have changed.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were celebrated over the summer for what many believed to be a horribly one-sided trade when they snatched All-Star Paul George from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
George was the proven commodity, revered as one of the NBA's top two-way talents. Oladipo, meanwhile, had floundered as a sidepiece to Russell Westbrook, while Sabonis was just entering the league as a rookie big man.
Needless to say, Twitter's initial reaction to the blockbuster deal now seems fairly comical in retrospect, considering Oladipo's emergence as a legitimate All-Star candidate, Sabonis' near double-double numbers as a reserve, and the Pacers (16-11) currently possessing a stronger record than Oklahoma City (12-14).
Thanks for the tweets reporting the "theft" of Paul George by @okcthunder.
— Oklahoma City Police (@OKCPD) July 1, 2017
Our investigative findings: totally legal & very savvy.
No other way to say it: Pacers botched this worse than imaginable. Got a bucket of meh back for trading the best player in their NBA history
— Jared Wade (@Jared_Wade) July 1, 2017
Just received a text from one exec, who can't believe "Presti's ability to continue pulling off one sided trades out of nowhere"
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) July 1, 2017
Playoffs spots are opening up hehehehe #TheProcess
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) July 1, 2017
(Note: Indiana is two games ahead of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.)
Bulls might be off the hook for their Butler return. What a brutal trade for Indy, even if I think Sabonis will be good.
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) July 1, 2017
This is some rabbit-out-of-a-hat stuff from Presti. Holy crap.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 1, 2017
This is the best the Pacers could do? What the? https://t.co/I2DQxlXRPp
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) July 1, 2017
Very little surprises me after all these years. This is an absolute shocker. Paul George for Oladipo and Sabonis? No disrespect, but...wow.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) July 1, 2017
OKC just got PG3 for a bag of Doritos & Vic Oladipo.
— MichaelRapaport (@MichaelRapaport) July 1, 2017
However Paul George is still the reigning HAIRLINE KING in all of sports pic.twitter.com/XrZ6qatnbp
If this is JUST Oladipo and Sabonis for Paul George, are you happy with the trade?
— Miller Time Podcast // Lance Meme Factory (@MillerTimePod) July 1, 2017
Pacers fans looking at what they got for Paul George pic.twitter.com/A9BIdpfSrl
— Legends (@LegendsofCH) July 1, 2017
How the Paul George trade went down:
— SpongeBob Sports (@SpongeBobSports) July 1, 2017
Mr. Krabs = Thunder
Patrick = Pacers pic.twitter.com/L8enUAQzN9
Checks out pic.twitter.com/Zx0uKDkbDr
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) July 1, 2017
Russell Westbrook right now 😂🎉 pic.twitter.com/ooBbHpZFua
— Overtime (@overtime) July 1, 2017