A blockbuster 2017 trade between the Thunder and Pacers helped set the stage for the 2025 NBA Finals, writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman. On June 30 of that year, Oklahoma City agreed to send Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo to Indiana in exchange for Paul George.
None of those players will be playing in these NBA Finals, but George and Sabonis were later used to acquire several of this series’ stars. Sending George to the Clippers in 2019 netted the Thunder a trade package that included Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the future draft pick that eventually became Jalen Williams. As for the Pacers, they dealt Sabonis to Sacramento at the 2022 trade deadline as part of the six-player trade that landed Tyrese Haliburton in Indiana.
As Anthony Slater of The Athletic writes, you can go back even further to find the key trade that instigated the series of roster moves that saw Oklahoma City acquire George.
Back in 2008, then-SuperSonics general manager Sam Presti was able to extract two first-round picks from Phoenix to take on Kurt Thomas‘ unwanted salary and get the Suns out of the tax. Presti used the first of those picks to draft Serge Ibaka, who was traded in 2016 to Orlando for Oladipo and Sabonis — the exact package that the Thunder used a year later to land George.
Here’s more on the upcoming NBA Finals:
- Gilgeous-Alexander and Haliburton rank first and second, in that order, in two lists published today by ESPN.com. In the first, Tim Bontemps ranks the 2025 postseason MVPs, with the Thunder and Pacers point guards leap-frogging Jalen Brunson for the top spots following the conference finals. In the second, Bontemps and Kevin Pelton rank the top 20 players in the NBA Finals, with Pascal Siakam, Williams, and Chet Holmgren rounding out the top five.
- Indianapolis is the 25th-largest media market in the United States, while Oklahoma City comes in at No. 47. Will a spring showdown between two small-market franchises affect the NBA’s bottom line? According to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, while the revenue generated by merchandise and ticket sales may fell well short of a New York-vs.-Los Angeles-type Finals, the league won’t really have to worry about a one-year ratings dip after having finalized a new long-term media rights deal in 2024. “There’s really no direct impact between ratings and financial success, certainly in the near term,” a former senior NBA executive told The Athletic. “If you have bad ratings for the next decade then that limits your TV rights. But I don’t think anyone in the NBA is worried about that right now because the revenues for TV are guaranteed.”
- Law Murray of The Athletic takes a closer look at how the Thunder and Pacers compare to one another in terms of the possession battle. As Murray details, neither team turns the ball over much, but Indiana has been the worst offensive rebounding team of the 16 clubs in the playoffs and doesn’t force opponent turnovers at nearly the same rate as Oklahoma City. Neutralizing the Thunder’s usual advantage in possessions and shot attempts will give the Pacers their best chance at pulling off the upset.
Is Sam Presti the longest tenured GM/Executive?
Riley?
technically Gregg Popovich has been spurs president since 1994, altho he just retired
next is Pat Riley since 95. presti is 3rd longest, since 07
If you count Popovich, who has technically had the president of basketball operations title in San Antonio since 1994, he’s the longest-tenured, then Riley, then Presti. link to hoopsrumors.com
Oladipo was traded for LeVert and a 2nd that became Jalen Pickett. LeVert was traded for a 2nd round pick that became Nembhard. Pickett was traded for a late 1st that was included in the package to acquire Siakam.
indy is brilliant at flipping players
its how small market tms survive and thrive
pacers were meticulously constructed. myles, nesmith, nemhard were all draft picks and retained thru long term contracts. PG was never gonna remain in indy so they did the smart thing and traded him asap. at the time i remember many folks thought it was a silly trade to acquire sabonas + oladipo. but indy developed both into all stars, then flipped sabonas for hali. carlisle recognized ty’s talents when he was still in college, and pushed mavs to trade up to draft him. when carlisle got to indy he encouraged pacers to trade for him and they pulled it off halfway thru carlisle’s 1st season as coach. then they traded for siakam. a veteran with a ring who fit in with the pacers like a glove. so there you have it. they dont have lebron or luka or durant or donovan or butler. they didnt import any superstars. with the exception of siakam, all their players were drafted or acquired early in their careers and developed these guys into winners. they built this sh** from the ground up. 25-57 record in 2022, 50 wins and (at the very least) a finals appearance in 2025. so proud of this group of players + coaching staff + pritchard the GM
Let’s go, Pacers. IHART is dead to me for leaving New York
FYI, Aaron Nesmith was not drafted by the Pacers. He was drafted by the Celtics.
@oxy
Youre right, 1st 2 yrs in boston. Played 10 mins a game
Indy developed him into a stud