Paul George: My Goal is to Win MVP

That brought out George’s competitive spirit as he returned the favor on the 19-year old out-of-school youth, who tried to go for a basket with his crafty ball handling.

Paul George is in Beijing as an ambassador for Nike but a group of fans known as the China Pacers didn’t know the all-star was planning on joining them for their annual fan gathering.

The Pacers team that George returns to will look vastly different from the last time he was fully healthy. I’m not going to get in a battle with Paul George on where he wants to play.

But the debate has raged all summer.

George watched the Tenement Blue team outlast the Fad Fam team, 9-8, in a free-flowing, ‘larong kanto’ (streetball) style that got him jumped off his seat after the thriller. He was taking another step forward towards becoming one of the most dominant wing players in the league, one of the best players in the National Basteball Association.

George can relate to them as well after a brief encounter on Monday morning (July 20) that included drills.

Bird made one thing clear Tuesday.

“Well, he don’t make the decisions around here”.

“I love it here”.

Bird told Ellis, a dynamic shooting guard, he was the missing piece in Indiana’s championship puzzle. For him, his rise to stardom meant accepting there should be no acceptable middle ground between being a headliner and someone who was playing little to no minutes. “It was an easy choice”. I’m here for a short time, but I want them to get the most out of me. “Like Kobe [Bryant] says, I had to put my big boy trousers on”. “It’s a real good franchise”.

The Pacers also acquired forward Chase Budinger in trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and signed first round pick Myles Turner and second-round pick Joe Young.

There are questions about both players as defenders, something even Bird acknowledged.

Bird also noted that the Pacers made so many changes in the offseason because David West chose to opted out of his contract.

“It was like a tease”, George said of his first visit.

Now the plan is to play small and dream big.

“It was just energy right before I even stepped a foot on the court”, said George.

“Any correction, they fix it right away”.

“I really felt there was a winning mentality, a winning attitude here”, Ellis said.

“They genuinely love the game”. “I think it (the size factor) is overrated”.