Anthony Davis Confirms That He Wanted To Be A Pacer Until LeBron Came Calling

Ron Hoskins. Getty Images.

Remember June? It feels like 50 years ago, but it wasn't all that long ago. This was a time where Paul George did an interview where he said that he ultimately left the Pacers because they refused to sign the best power forward in the league

Given the timing of his free agency, a lot of people thought he was maybe talking about Blake Griffin. Further digging showed that in reality, he was talking about Anthony Davis

Yikes Pacers. You idiots. But even after this was reported, it was still speculation. Well that was until AD opened up about it

Yup, this is 100% true. The interesting here is the timing of it all. When did LeBron reach out to AD about teaming up? Back when the Pacers shit went down, AD still had years left on his deal. From the sounds of it, LeBron was planning this partnership for years. Smart move by him obviously, they just won the title. I'm sure people will react to that little nugget in a completely responsible manner. Listen, tampering and players talking about teaming up is the game. Don't be mad about it. Be mad the players on your favorite team can't do the same. 

But think of how different the NBA would look right now if the Pacers didn't blow this opportunity. Maybe a PG/AD duo gets them over the hump and they win the whole thing. Then there's no OKC trade. Then maybe Westbrook doesn't get traded for Paul. Perhaps Kawhi doesn't go to the Clippers. They don't mortgage their future for George. Maybe LeBron doesn't go to the Lakers. The ripple effects of this are wild.

As a Pacers fan, this would hurt to hear. I mean LeBron was the reason those really good Pacers teams never got over the hump. In both of their ECF appearances in 2012-13 and 2013-14, it was LeBron's Heat that eliminated them. Then he did it again in 2016-17. Then again in 2017-2018. That's brutal. Then we hear about how he's a big reason (along with ownership), that they didn't land AD and it ultimately costing them Paul George too? That's about as rough as it gets. 

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Now look what happened. We all have to deal with Lakers fans being able to talk as much shit as they want since they're the defending champs. The Lakers are the overwhelming favorites to repeat this year. Basically what I'm trying to say is this is all the Pacers fault and they should be very ashamed and very embarrassed.