Paul George Survived the Trade Deadline, Now What?

Paul George was rumored to be on the trading block Thursday, but ultimately stayed put in Indiana. How is he approaching the season's second half?

Paul George Pacers Thunder 2017
USA Today Sports

Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) looks on against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Pacers won 93-90.

Paul George Pacers Thunder 2017

It is February 24th, the NBA trade deadline is past, and Paul George is still an Indiana Pacer. This is a good thing for the Pacers, who remain sixth in the Eastern Conference playoff race despite a six-game losing streak entering the All-Star break. And honestly it’s not a bad thing for George, who can finally focus on finishing out the season in Indianapolis. If the Pacers expect to make any noise in the postseason, they’ll need their 26-year-old superstar small forward, currently averaging 22.3 points and 6.3 boards, to do it all.

During some much-needed downtime this past weekend, George provided an on-court assist to teammate Glenn Robinson III as he won the Dunk Contest, and played in his second straight All-Star Game following his horrific lower leg injury in the summer of 2014. In all possible ways, Paul George is back. We caught up with him via phone in between practice and a Gatorade commercial shoot at the midway point of what has been quite the eventful year—oh yeah, his first Nike signature shoe drops this weekend, too. There was a lot to talk about.

(This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Let’s talk a little bit about Saturday first, the Dunk Contest. What was that experience like for you?
It was great, it was great to still be a part of the dunk contest without being part of the dunk contest [laughs]. I was really excited for Glenn first and foremost; he really wanted this and he went and got it, he went and chased a big achievement and a big accomplishment. But it was fun, it was fun to be up close and be there to support a teammate—not only was I there, but Myles Turner was there, another teammate.

"I’m comfortable knowing this is what we have, we gotta work with this, we gotta build off this. But you know, I’m not in the front office, that’s not decisions I make or am involved in. I’m just a player here."

Did you guys work on those dunks before? Were you holding the ball, letting him jump over you in practice?
Yeah, we worked on it one day though—we only really got one night of trying each dunk out, so I was a little nervous coming into it.

I imagine that’s even more stressful than being in the Dunk Contest itself, facing the other way when someone’s gonna jump over you.
Well, I had full faith in him. I know how well he can jump and how high he can jump—one thing I told him during that Dunk Contest is that his adrenaline is gonna have him jumping even higher. I wasn’t worried about [him jumping over me] I was moreso worried about our connection with the handoff, was I gonna mess him up or not.

 

 

What about Sunday, that had to mean a lot too getting that second All-Star Game under your belt after the injury.
Just being back as an All-Star, obviously before the injury I had a level of play I wanted to remain at and continue to sustain, then to have the injury, and now it’s kind of put behind me. I’ve made two All-Star appearances back-to-back again, kind of just reassures I’m back on that main level and regardless of what I’ve gained and what I’ve lost from the injury, I’m still a player on an All-Star level.

Do you feel like the NBA has made a generational shift since the 2014 All-Star Game, your last before you got hurt?
Yeah, it is. And I think we’ve seen that with Tim Duncan retiring, with KG and Kobe retiring, the guys we grew up watching, it’s just the way the nature is. And then you got a lot of us young guys—myself, Kyrie, Westbrook, Durant—taking over. Isaiah, Giannis, the younger guys. It’s the way the NBA is going, it’s getting younger and younger, it’s on us to carry that burden to the level that the Kobes and the Tim Duncans did.

Do you feel that pressure yourself, because obviously you’re one of the younger guys, but you’re playing with someone like Myles who’s even that much younger.
[Laughs.] Yeah certainly, certainly you feel the pressure. Again, because it’s the guys ahead of us that did it, Kobe Bryant, the way he was and his mentality, you just don’t want that to die out in this league that’s getting younger and younger.

As an opponent or as his teammate on Sunday, are you surprised by what Giannis Antetokounmpo can do out there—taking one dribble from midcourt and dunking from a step inside the free-throw line?
It was definitely awesome to see him live and up close—his length, and, I can even really respect just his mindset, his attitude towards the game and what he brings to the game. We’ve competed a lot and we’ve had some pretty heated moments but I really came to respect his game and his maturation to this league. He wows you—his ability, his length, just the way he approached the game, the All-Star game, he approached it to play some defense. You don’t see that, guys nowadays they tend not to go that direction. They just want to use All-Star Weekend as added rest, or "I’m not gonna go as hard because this technically doesn’t count for me"’ so it was great he brought that attitude towards it.

Now that this break is over and you came through this deadline with just a bunch of rumors, what are you looking to get out of the last third of this season?
With us it’s about becoming serious contenders, trying to figure this out, how to get better. We didn’t make any trades, we have what we have, and we gotta get better with what we have. We’re in the sixth spot right now, so we’re in the playoffs, but I think we have one of the toughest schedules to close our season out. So hopefully these final 20-30 games we have help build us and prepare us for the playoffs.

I’m comfortable knowing this is what we have, we gotta work with this, we gotta build off this. But you know, I’m not in the front office, that’s not decisions I make or am involved in. I’m just a player here.

Paul George Layup Pacers Wizards 2017

Are you just looking forward to getting back out there?
Yeah, that’s really all it is. Getting that break, that was much needed, just to get away from everything. And now, I’m excited, I’m pumped, it’s almost like the restart of a new season again—which in some ways it is. The first half is totally different from the second half as teams get better; teams that start to really shape up, they’re getting better. Teams really improve after All-Star week. That’s what I’m most excited about, how well can we get to that level of competing.

What’s it been like playing with Jeff Teague this year, he’s another guy who was an All-Star. Was there a period of adjustment?
Yeah, it’s been a big period of adjustment. We’re still adjusting, we’re still trying to figure one another out. It’s a relationship that we have to get better with in order for us to win. We’re trying to figure things out. It’s a little different from when I had George [Hill] here, me and George being together for so long we just knew each other. So I guess time—chemistry takes time to build on.

And then the other big switch was from Coach Frank Vogel to Coach Nate McMillan, what’s been the biggest difference?
Not much. We’ve stuck with the same defensive principles, offensively we kind of stuck with the same stuff. Nate is more so of a confrontational guy; he wants guys to get on each other’s cases, he wants a player-coached team whereas Frank was more keeping things positive, keeping things light. If I could differentiate the two, that’s the biggest thing.

Your first signature shoe comes out this weekend. How does that feel?
I feel amazing. I feel very fortunate to be part of such a prestigious family, being the fifth active player and the 21st player overall to have his own Nike signature shoe. I dreamed about this as a little kid, and for me to actually have that come to life I just think it’s been a heck of a year for me from being 2K cover athlete, to releasing my shoe, the Olympic gold medal—I think this has just been an amazing year for me overall, and with the release of the shoe it’s just adding on to that. Again, I dreamed of that moment of having my first signature with Nike and it’s here.

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