Vic Oladipo / Kawhi Leonard
- Thread starter edub72
- Start date
In 2011, the Pacers drafted Kawhi Leonard and then traded him and two guys you've never heard of for Hill. I remember the story that Larry Bird's secretary told him something like, "It's time to bring George Hill home," so Bird pulled the trigger on the deal.
The Pacers had no intention of drafting Leonard. They had someone else in mind. The Spurs came calling with the George Hill offer if the Pacers drafted Leonard for them. People need to let it go. Leonard was never going to be a Pacer.
Not near the gaffe taking Sam Bowie over Jordan.
That reshaped the NBA for 15 years..
That reshaped the NBA for 15 years..
Just to add a little fuel to the fire, remember, the Pacers gave that pick to Portland for Tom Owens.
Yeah, from what I know about Larry Bird, it seems entirely plausible that his sentimental secretary’s unsolicited musing was a key factor in his decision to trade away his 1st round draft pick to get a local kid back home.
These guys don’t have crystal balls...and sometimes their roster decisions turn up craps.
Larry was responsible for the team implosion in Detroit that destroyed a possible NBA champion. He kept Ron Artest around way longer than he should have and it blew up in his face, literally.
Larry Bird, amazing player, decent coach, sucky Pres.
Larry Bird, amazing player, decent coach, sucky Pres.
True, enough! When the Pacers traded Hill to Utah, they got Jeff Teague from Atlanta. They kept Teague for a year and then let him go in free agency. So, you could argue that there is no one on the roster who is here as a result of trading away Kawhi Leonard. And, surely, Leonard would still be a Pacer.
Probably wasn't the best series of moves in Pacer history.
Huh?
PG was going to leave the Pacers... Leonard was going to leave the Spurs... but he would have stayed with the Pacers?
VanPastorMan
Hall of Famer
Let's be clear. George Hill is a good player. It's just that when you compare him to Leonard that we have a problem. George really seems like a good guy too which makes me wish he was a lot better. I pulled for him in the last series.
Kawhi seems content to want to go home to LA. Guess we will find out in a month or so. If he leaves a team as good as the Raptors and a city such as Toronto to go home to LA, I think chances are quite high he'd of left Indy. PG13 may have never wanted to leave in that scenario either so maybe no VO.
Paul George would have stayed with the Pacers, so they never would have traded for Vic. PG only left because they couldn't put enough talent behind him. With PG, Leonard, and a decent big man protecting the rim (Hibbert in his prime or Turner) that would have been one of the best defensive teams of all time and a pretty good offensive team.
But the Pacers needed a point guard, so if they had kept the pick they probably would have drafted Iman Shumpert or someone.
But the Pacers needed a point guard, so if they had kept the pick they probably would have drafted Iman Shumpert or someone.
In sams defense, he was never healthy. He played 10 years in the nba. You could say taking the dream over Jordan was a dumb move also. Yeah, he won 2 with drexler on his team, not too hard when you have another top 50 goat.
That’s of course how the Pacers executives will tell the story. But I was watching that draft night. That deal wasn’t made until much later in the night. Also if I’m an executive and the Spurs come calling to trade up which they never do. They tell you who they want, I’d start looking at that player really hard. The spurs would never give away who they were wanting to draft unless the deal was finalized. Which it wasn’t. But on the topic of Vic and the Klaw. It would have never happened. Bc had we kept KL. PG13 would have never left.
After having started to coach Jordan for the ensuing ‘84 Olympics, RMK phoned up the Trailblazers’ GM and advised him to take Jordan with the 2nd pick. The GM said they really needed a center. Knight told him to still take Jordan and just play him at center...that there wasn’t a center in the league who would be better than Jordan at that or any other position.
You’re certainly right that Bowie’s career was derailed by his chronic injuries. But even if he’d have been completely healthy....
Of course, hindsight is 20/20 — especially when it comes to drafting in sports. Everybody knew Jordan would be great. But few suspected he’d become what he became.
I bet astronauts are good at most things that they do.
The deal was probably announced later because it included another pick in Round 2 going from the pacers to Spurs. The Spurs used that pick on Bertans who has turned into a very nice role player for the spurs. I highly expect that it was agreed upon before the Pacers drafted and doubt that the deal was consumated after the Pacers drafted Kawhi with intent to keep him.
Remember when the Pacers were dumb enough to pick Reggie Miller and not Stevie Alfred? What a stupid pick...Alfred would have been lights out here. I'm sure Bobby would have left IU to coach the Pacers shortly after...starting a string of championships.
The Pacers are dumb.
The Pacers are dumb.
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