Pritchard: Pacers, George 'on the same page'
The Indiana Pacers appear fully committed to keeping Paul George long term.
Newly named president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard revealed Monday that the Pacers spoke with George last week, and have every reason to believe he'll at least consider a future in Indiana.
"We talked about a lot of different things. In every scenario he talked about being here. That's important," Pritchard told the Indy Star's Matthew VanTryon. "He wants to win. Picking up Lance late in the year made us a better team and got us into the playoffs. We want to win. We want successful teams year in and year out, and that has to do with Paul. He wants to win, the Pacers want to win, we're on the same page."
Should George be named to any of the three All-NBA teams this season, he would be eligible to sign a designated veteran player extension in July - a deal that would net the 26-year-old north of $200 million. While Pritchard is aware that George may be less interested in re-signing if he fails to make All-NBA, he believes it won't be the deciding factor if he can surround the four-time All-Star with a winning squad.
"All-NBA is somewhat important to keeping George, but we've got to show we can win," Pritchard said. "It's up to me to put the team around him."