Report: Pacers GM backed out of Love-George trade after it was agreed upon
The Cleveland Cavaliers thought they had landed Paul George.
The club had worked out a blockbuster trade that would see it send power forward Kevin Love to the Denver Nuggets, who would ship Gary Harris and assets to the Indiana Pacers, while George would be on his way to join LeBron James and Co., according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Dave McMenamin, and Brian Windhorst.
All three teams reportedly agreed to the blockbuster trade in principal over a conference call on June 30, and people within the Cavs organization had begun celebrating and plotting other free-agent moves that would complement the addition. George and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert were even set to speak over the phone to seal the deal.
But then Indiana Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard put the kibosh on it via text message, and proceeded to trade his team's best player to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for guard Victor Oladipo and forward Domantas Sabonis.
Related: George was shocked by trade to OKC
And so, Cleveland struck out on George after already failing in its pursuit of Jimmy Butler, who the Chicago Bulls traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft day. More recently, reports emerged that starting point guard Kyrie Irving requested to be traded from the Cavs following three straight Finals appearances.
Related: Cavaliers reportedly floated Irving in trade packages for George, Butler
Imagine going from having a Big Three of James, Irving, and George to ... the current state of the franchise.