Back in 2017, the Pacers’ Paul George saga was already headed for the exit ramp. Indiana had been swept by the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers, and the whole thing felt like a slow collapse in real time. The trade chatter that followed only added to the chaos, with names and picks flying everywhere as teams tried to figure out the price on a disgruntled superstar.
Some of the rumored packages were familiar enough: Brandon Ingram and the No. 2 pick in a loaded 2018 class, a deal centered on a young Jaylen Brown, even the allure of the 2019 Brooklyn Nets pick that Cleveland had landed in the Kyrie Irving trade with Boston. But one of the wildest possibilities came from Indiana itself.
The Pacers reportedly went to the Golden State Warriors and floated a George-for-Klay Thompson swap.
That meant Indiana, in the middle of the Warriors’ run of two titles in three years and fresh off Golden State’s first season with Kevin Durant, was willing to move Paul George for half of the Splash Brothers. George would later finish top-three in MVP voting two years after that. Thompson, meanwhile, would have arrived in Indiana as the centerpiece of the deal.
On paper, it’s easy to see why the idea is so intriguing. Thompson as a first option in Indiana would have been a fascinating watch, especially with the chance to see more of his game outside the orbit of Durant and Steph Curry. The thought of more than just the usual two- or three-dribble isolations is enough to make the imagination run.
But the Pacers’ actual return turned out to be the one that mattered. Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis came back in the George deal, and that path eventually helped lead to Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and Tyrese Haliburton. Oladipo stepped in and was immediately an All-NBA third-team selection and the league’s Most Improved Player, and that first season became one of the most memorable in Pacers history.
He also gave Indiana something Thompson likely would have approximated, at least in theory: an elite two-way guard who could take on the opponent’s top perimeter scorer and still produce efficiently on offense, even if the volume wasn’t as dramatic.
The key difference is that Oladipo’s version of that role actually happened in Indiana, while the Klay version remained a what-if. And as entertaining as that alternate timeline sounds, it probably wouldn’t have moved the Pacers forward in the same way. Indiana pushed Cleveland to seven games in Oladipo’s first season, stayed in the mix for three more years, and then eventually reshaped everything by moving Sabonis for Haliburton.
So the deal that never happened would have mostly changed the fun of the debate. The Pacers ended up with Haliburton. The Warriors kept their franchise legend and won two more rings.
In Other News...
Pacers Zubac Trade Just Got Even Harder To Defend
The Pacers decision to send a 2026 first-round pick and other assets to the Clippers for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown already had the look of a move worth revisiting, and the back end of the deal has only made it more complicated. What was once a simple future-pick transaction has turned into a reminder of how much draft capital can change hands in the NBA long before anyone knows exactly what it will be worth.
Now the leagues punishment of the Clippers for salary-cap violations tied to Kawhi Leonard has added another layer, because one of the first-rounders lost in the penalty package was the 2029 pick that originally came from Indiana. The Pacers will not get that pick back, and with it gone from the draft altogether, the trade sits in an even tougher spot to justify from Indianas side. [Read more 🡒]