While Paul George’s may have had better seasons after he left Indiana, it can’t be forgotten that he cut his teeth as a Pacer and developed his All-Star form there.  The blunt truth is that he became one hell of a player in Basketball's Heartland.

The Indiana Pacers fanbase were scratching their heads when their team traded for Jermaine O'Neal and gave up Dale Davis to get him.  O'Neal had been in the NBA for four years and only started 18 Games for Portland, averaging only 11.5 Minutes per Game, so why would they trade for him?

Here's why.

Jerami Grant was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers very early in the 2016/17 season, and he would have the same role in Oklahoma City that he would in Philadelphia, as a backup Power Forward.  Grant would do that for the first two years in OKC, but would start 77 of his 80 Games in 2018/19 and averaged 13.6 Points per Game.