Paul George says he regrets how he left Indiana

Paul George wanted to leave the Indiana Pacers last summer, but he regrets how it all went down. During the Thunder shootaround George told reporters that, while he was comfortable with his decision, he’d do things differently if he had a chance to.

He wasn’t done. While he regretted how everything went down, he said the Pacers got a good player back in Oladipo and should appreciate him for what he is.

“Vic has been phenomenal here. And I would love to piggyback on what Vic said in terms of being compared to me. I don’t think you guys, or Indiana in general, is giving him the respect,” George said. “I’m done. I’m over with. I moved on. It’s Vic time and he’s doing great here.”

George is following up on the same sentiment Oladipo had where he said he was “sick and tired” of the comparisons between he and George.

It’s great to see that all parties involved have moved on and this is a nice sentiment from George. He didn’t have to admit that he has regret about how he was moved — he got the outcome he wanted. But it wasn’t the decision he regretted, it was the process.

Will it heal all wounds? Probably not. Here’s what our resident Pacers’ fan Whitney Medworth had to say about him demanding a trade.

But Paul George is always going be that ex Pacers fans think about, even if we don’t want to admit it. That’s OK. That’s not necessarily rational. Just understand that Pacers fans will always be hurt by how things ended with George. We went through a lot together, and those memories, good and bad, will linger for a long time to come.

He’ll still probably be booed during his return on Wednesday and that’s just fine. His comments don’t change the fact that he wanted out. But it does open up the potential for good vibes down the road between the two sides.

Everyone involved got something of value. George got to move on, the Thunder got another star to play alongside Russell Westbrook, the Pacers got a potential star in Victor Oladipo and a solid prospect in Domantas Sabonis.

The comparisons between these two teams as well as Oladipo and George will always be relevant, but sometimes those things don’t matter. It’s possible for two teams to “win” a trade and, right now, it looks like both sides did.