The Indiana Pacers and Paul George have begun preliminary contract extension talks.
Paul George told me here in Rio there have been some initial talks about a contract extension with the Pacers, but nothing extensive.
— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) August 4, 2016
George, 26, inked a five-year, $90 million-plus max deal with Indy back in 2013.
The All-Star forward has recovered from a horrific leg injury, and is looking forward to helping lead Team USA in its quest for Olympic Gold this summer.
Per WHTR:
Of course he appreciates every moment. Could anybody possibly appreciate it any more than the Pacers’ star wing? Two years ago, he suffered that grisly leg injury that seemed to doom his chance of playing in these Games. Would he ever come back? Nobody knew. Nobody could hope to know. […] Credit team manager Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski for keeping George’s spirits high, placing that carrot in front of his face. After the injury, they visited George in his Las Vegas hospital room and told him this: “When you’re healthy again, there’s a spot for you on the 2016 team.”
For months – and months – George has talked freely about the injury, the comeback, the goal of the Olympics, so when the international media tried to ask about it once again here Thursday, he grimaced. He wasn’t rude about it; the affable George doesn’t do rude. But how many times can you answer the question? […] “Honestly, I haven’t even thought about it except when media asks,” he said. “At this point, it’s a closed chapter. I don’t even think about it.”
“You can tell he carries an aura about him now,” U.S. teammate Kyrie Irving recently told Michael Lee of The Vertical. “…I don’t know if he had it before. Sometimes, adversity can do that to you. And it has a way of shaping a person’s life like no other. None of us were there when he was going through rehab. None of us were here when he was in his bedroom alone, thinking about life, how he was going to get back. None of us were there when he was trying to figure out, what is the next step? That right there builds character. I can feel it. I can see it.” […] I asked George what he was doing at this time last year. “Two, three workouts a day,” he said. “On the track, on a field, a lot of running, a lot of explosive drills. It’s great to not have to go through that torture again. It was torture, for sure. I pushed my body to limits I didn’t think I could go.”
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