Early returns are good on Pacers' haul for Paul George

When news broke June 30 that the Indiana Pacers had dealt Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, the snickering was audible in some quarters.

The Pacers lacked leverage given George's ultimatum that he would leave Indiana via free agency if he wasn't traded, and the package they received for him was perceived as a subpar haul.

Four months later almost to the day, that seemingly paltry return doesn't look so bad for the Pacers.

As with any claim made about October in the NBA, it must be prefaced with "it's early," but through six games, Oladipo and Sabonis look like solid franchise pieces.

While Oladipo's winner Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs also came in a game in which he had seven turnovers, the 25-year-old is now shooting over 50 percent from the floor on the season. In a small sample size, he looks more like the dynamic talent the Orlando Magic drafted in 2013, and less like the player who seemed redundant next to Russell Westbrook last season.

Maybe he's just happy to be back in Indiana, where he played college ball for the Hoosiers for three years.

Meanwhile, only one NBA player so far in 2017-18 has shot 100 percent in three different games on at least seven field-goal attempts. His name is Domantas Sabonis.

The 21-year-old notched a career high Sunday with 22 points while tying another career best with 12 rebounds. Sabonis has been active in the paint while franchise center Myles Turner is out, and he's shooting 66 percent from the floor in six games.

"We try ... and prove to everyone we're just not those players who were in the Paul George trade," Sabonis told FOX Sports' Pat Boylan postgame Sunday.

"We actually mean something."