Earlier this week, a rumor about the Detroit Pistons negotiation a trade deal with the Indiana Pacers to acquire Paul George emerged. But, this rumor was immediately shut down by Stan Van Gundy, the head coach and president of the Detroit franchise.
According to MLive, the rumor started after a website made unsubstantiated claims about a trade deal between the Pistons and the Pacers. In the report, the site claimed that the Pistons were willing to give up a first-round draft pick, Tobias Harris, Stanley Johnson and Kentavious Caldwell-Pop to the Pacers in exchange for George along with Montal Ellis and a three-time NBA all-star.
The rumor was then picked up by other media sites, such as Sporting News, which then made a follow-up as to how the trade would benefit the teams and players involved. For instance, one report stated that moving George to Detroit would be good for the Pistons organization as it will help boost the fan base of the team. It also claimed that given the number of players that the Pacers will be getting out of the trade, the team will be able to make significant changes to its lineup to create a better roster.
However, soon after the rumor gain traction, it was immediately debunked by Van Gundy, who stated that these reports do not have a solid basis. In other words, neither the Pistons nor the Pacers are in talks for a trade involving George.
"I love sports," he said, "Like somebody thinks of an idea, and then they write it into an article as if they've really got a source. I'd like to know the source, because that guy should talk to us."
This marked the second time this year that the coach slammed an incorrect report about a rumored trade. Back in February, the coach debunked a rumor about the Pistons trading Brandon Jennings to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Thaddeus Young.
"99.9 percent of the stuff that's out there will never happen," he said in February. "Mostly because 98 percent of it's just made up. It's just made up."
