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Pacers trade Paul George to Thunder in NBA

There has been a shock trade in the NBA, with Paul George moving to Oklahoma City from the Indiana Pacers.

Paul George
The Indiana Pacers' Paul George is moving to Oklahoma City Thunder, according to reports. (AAP)

NBA star Paul George has a new home, and league MVP Russell Westbrook has a new big-name teammate.

The Indiana Pacers have agreed to trade George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, said two people with knowledge of the details.

The teams came together on the trade just hours before Friday's free agent market was set to open, said the sources.

George told the Pacers recently that he planned to leave as a free agent next summer, forcing the team to find a trade before losing him for nothing.

George is the second Eastern Conference All-Star from this past season to join the already-loaded Western Conference in the last few days. Jimmy Butler was traded by Chicago to Minnesota on draft night.

George broke his left leg in a gruesome scene while playing with USA Basketball in Las Vegas in 2014, which prompted fears he would never be the same.

Those fears proved unfounded, since George has been better than ever in the last two seasons - averaging 23.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in 2015-16, and following that up with averages of 23.7 points and 6.6 rebounds this past season.

Indiana will be Oladipo's third team, after starting his career in Orlando and spending last season in Oklahoma City. He's averaged 15.9 points per game in his four pro seasons, on 43 per cent shooting.

Sabonis started 66 games as a rookie last season with the Thunder, averaging 5.9 points.

Meanwhile, Minnesota sent Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz on Friday, then moved quickly to reach an agreement with free agent point guard Jeff Teague on a three-year, $US57 million ($A74 million) deal.

The Jazz sent a protected future first-round pick from Oklahoma City to the Timberwolves in exchange for Rubio.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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