Paul George extremely critical of Pacers following trade deadline

The NBA trade deadline has come and gone. Paul George is still on the Indiana Pacers. But from the sounds of things, the team has to mend fences with its star.

Speaking to a pool of reporters, George made it clear that he did not like the communication (or lack thereof) between himself and the team during the lead up to Thursday’s trade deadline.

“I kind was on the ropes just like you guys were on what was about to happen,” he said. “It was kind of a dark moment of uncertainty. That was the frustrating part. You want me to be your guy here. I thought I would have been in the loop a little more on that.”

That’s bad look for the Pacers.

Indiana was reportedly trying to gauge interest on a George trade. Interested parties were said to include the Los Angeles Lakers, Atlanta Hawks, and Denver Nuggets.

In reality, George’s status as the team’s best player should have kept him in the loop, even if he wasn’t rumored to be on the move. Star players mean too much to their respective franchises to be kept in the dark. George has certainly done enough for the Pacers in his career to earn that respect.

What’s more baffling is that more than nearly any other team, Indiana should know how to treat a star. After all, Indiana’s team president, Larry Bird, is one of the greatest players in NBA history. He should be more in tune with what it takes to keep a star happy than most executives.