George not thrilled about move to power forward
Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel said he has a projected starting lineup "on paper."
But star forward Paul George doesn’t appear to be reading from the same page.
On Thursday, Vogel shared his tentative 2015-16 starting lineup with George at power forward, alongside George Hill, Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles and Ian Mahinmi. Team President Larry Bird has repeatedly said George will see time at power forward as part of an overhaul that will make the Pacers a high-volume offensive team.
However, when asked about Vogel's projected starting five, George said: "That's kinda new to me. We talked about it some, (but) for him to say it in the papers, I guess he's pretty confident on me starting as the power forward. So that was new to me.
"I don't think I'm at that point in my career where I should be changing positions. I think guys do that later in their career. They put on weight, (begin) lacking physical attributes as far as being quick, so I don’t necessarily feel the need to play a different position, especially coming back into a new season and starting fresh again. So it’s a change, it’s definitely a change. We’ll see how it goes.”
George, speaking a couple of hours after Vogel at the Brickyard Crossing Golf Course for the Pacers Foundation Golf Outing, however, did said he's willing to explore a position change.
“I told them I’m open for a change. I wasn’t extremely thrilled about it when they first presented it to me,” George said, “but the way the league is going and my playing style, I think I can fit right into it. We’ll see how it goes during camp whether I’m comfortable with it or not, then we’ll just make that decision from there. But to start it out, I’m open for the change.”
Still, George sounded less than enthused about the topic. During a local radio interview, George started responses with a pause or an "uhmm" when talking about the new position. Then when asked how much of a say he'll have in the decision while meeting with local reporters, George added: "I hope a lot. I hope my happiness comes first in this whole ordeal but, again, I'm not someone that's going to kill a locker room. I'm open to it so I just want to see how it goes."
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The two-time All-Star, who missed all but six games last year due to rehabilitation of his broken right leg, has shown versatility from the wing position during his career. However, even while checking the best offensive opponent, George, who was named to the NBA All-Defensive first team in 2014, has primarily played small forward.
Funky as it may seem, George as starting power forward should not come as a complete surprise – especially considering that the idea was hatched by none other than Bird.
On the heelsof the regular season, Bird announced plans to play George “some” at the new position. Through the summer, the idea appeared to grow more legs.
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“I’m the one who thinks he can play the four,” Bird told NBA TV in July. “I think the mismatches on the offensive end are greater than the defensive liability he’ll have. I think he can handle it.”
That same month, however, George first expressed his opinion about the move, saying, "If I've got to play a couple minutes at power forward, I'm fine with it." Though he noted he felt he could play anywhere on the court, he wasn't expecting to play 30 minutes at power forward.
Overall, George has his concerns about making a move — and it seems odd that he and the team don't appear in harmony less than a week before the start of training camp — but any divergent views between himself and Pacers' bosses may become a passing footnote once training camp unfolds and the regular season begins.
Also, as Vogel noted, the tentative lineup may change.
“They’re all variable in terms of how things play out during camp,” Vogel said. “Not just with certain positions but we intend to go in and be effective playing with a small lineup. Obviously, training camp tells you a lot about your team. We’ll see how it plays out."
Though he has strong views about the role, George, as the rising leader who spent large portions of the summer working out with the younger players, did in fact sound thrilled about one thing: the upcoming season with his new teammates.
"I think we are capable of changing the East," George said. "We've got a lot of scorers, great playmakers, great ballhandlers. Our whole makeup has changed and if we have success in playing the small-ball game, we can really change the East."
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Also of note is Mahinmi filling the starting center position. Though Mahinmi did not make an appearance — he was making his way back from France — he received a starter’s vote of confidence from teammate George Hill.
Mahinmi, a 6-11 center entering his eighth season, has made 21 starts and has averaged 4.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game during his career.
“We hope so,” Hill said when asked about Mahinmi’s status as the starting center. “I think he deserves it right now, he’s our lone big that’s been here the longest. He’s done a great job when he’s been in the game so far for us with changing the style of play and the speed of the game and doing a great job defensively. I know he’s been working hard this summer to try to step up in that role we’re missing right now from Roy (Hibbert) being gone. Knowing that we’re going to miss Roy a lot, but I think Ian will do a great job in trying to fill that void.”
Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.