Years before Paul George worked to facilitate a trade from the Indiana Pacers, speculation was already rampant that he one day would join his hometown Los Angeles Lakers. The sentiment went into overdrive when George requested to be moved.
But as the Lakers refused to include Brandon Ingram in a trade, the Pacers looked to other teams and eventually struck a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Many viewed it as a one-year situation as George had indicated he would sign with the Lakers in free agency.
Although the Thunder struggled and suffered an inglorious first-round exit in the playoffs, the trade worked out in the sense that George re-signed on a four-year max contract this past summer.