NBA Trade Rumors – Paul George Better Than Kevin Durant? Indiana Pacers Forward Makes Danny Granger Trade Bait

The Indiana Pacers were one game away from dethroning the Miami Heat just six months ago. Two months before that, there was hardly any prediction of a Heat-Pacers match-up. Even with a respectable regular season record, NBA experts kept on quoting what is probably NBA canon - "No superstars, no championship."

Since Indiana did not have a resident star, they built one, or rather, developed one. Paul George was an under the radar player. He was not highly touted, he didn't attend a high profile college either.

He spent his entire basketball career being underrated. He wasn't even noticed in high school. In the Rivals' prospect list, he was ranked 20th in his class. Not 20th in the nation, just 20th in the state of California. Other NBA players in the list were Jrue Holiday (New Orleans Pelicans) and DeMar DeRozan (Toronto Raptors). Now, the GMs of these two players would gladly trade either, or even both of them for Paul George. But Indiana Pacers' president Larry 'Legend' Bird would not even listen.  

Miami went 8-1 in last season's playoffs prior to meeting Paul George and the Pacers. They got the shock of their lives as the Pacers had them at the ropes, and only lost steam in Game 7. As the Western Conference Finals ended in a sweep, for the last 3 games, the entire basketball world watched the Heat and Pacers only, and the seemingly invincible Lebron James met his match with Paul George.

George was not about to let go of his momentum. While expectations were now sky high and he is anything but 'under-the-radar' now, he has still surprised the world.

It might seem like a long shot, but some observers say Paul George is now better than Kevin Durant. Durant's team stood up to the Heat but has taken a step backwards with the Harden trade. George, on the other hand, has rejuvenated fan support, a full vote of confidence from Larry Legend and the franchise, with a max contract to boot.

With Indiana remaining the only undefeated team this season, their achievements without former main man Danny Granger has made him trade bait. They can without Granger, and he is worth a lot to other teams. While Bird has the class to keep Granger even for loyalty purposes, if this season is their one