George Hill Trade Retrospective: A Steal for the Utah Jazz or Nah?

Given the cost and the way his replacement has performed for the Indiana Pacers, was the George Hill trade a steal for the Utah Jazz?

Take a journey as we seek to examine why the Jazz-Pacers-Hawks trade made sense for at least two of the three teams involved. To help us understand the circumstances we’ll have a conversation with two Indiana Pacers experts.  We’re wondering if playing faster might not have mattered to George Hill as much as it seems to have mattered to the other personnel and the Pacer’s organization. This is all pure speculation but if we dive in we should be able to separate fact from fiction.

Considering the trade recently a fan might have wondered if Larry Bird may have had a strong indication from Hill that he would not return because his style didn’t quite fit the direction the Pacers were trending. This is pure speculation and conjecture on my part so to dig a little deeper and find out what the real reasons behind the decision might have been I asked the help of a couple of the most knowledgeable Pacers experts I know for their input.

You may all know @ChristianDudley of ESPN 93.9 Louisville and BLU3WorldOrder.com (he’s a Grizzlies expert as well) who we’ve featured before. We’re also talking with @GrantAfseth of Sneakerreport.com both of these gentlemen are known Pacers experts that can give Jazz fans some insight into the Indiana side of the George Hill trade.

Now that we know our experts let’s take a look at what they know about “Indiana” George Hill.

In Indiana pace of play seemed to be a hot button topic. Was this one of the reasons they sought to move George Hill?

Grant: I believe that pace of play was probably a major factor in this decision. Nate McMillan and Larry Bird both mentioned the fact that Jeff Teague can help them push the pace and they really like that element of his game in the introductory press conference. I also think his ability to penetrate the lane is a major factor since they wanted and needed more playmaking.

George Hill brought perimeter shooting and was more of a complimentary option while Teague is a playmaker that can attack on drives and in the pick-and-roll, which was the primary motivation for the move to make Paul George’s daily tasks easier.

Christian: I do no believe pace of play was the reason to move Hill, rather it was a golden opportunity to get a true point guard — an All-Star in Jeff Teague — for the starting lineup, which has not happened since the Jamaal Tinsley (editor’s note: former Jazzman alert!) era. Even when Darren Collison was on the team, he was not the pure point guard type the team has wanted, resembling a combo-guard prototype more than anything. The case was the same for Hill.

Yes, he can definitely play point guard, but his niche was playing the two-spot. That was the scenario for him in San Antonio, where he made a name for himself. In Indy, he was phenomenal, but it was still not exactly what the Pacers have wanted. By taking a flyer on Teague, the Pacers are taking a big risk while hoping to land major rewards. Hill was a big piece of their puzzle to give up, but Teague is a dynamic and true point guard that could get the squad back into the Eastern Conference Finals.

Pace of play was an issue for the Pacers last season, but George Hill is not to blame.

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How would you compare George Hill to Jeff Teague?

Grant: I think they are widely contrasting players. Hill has been more of a floor spacing player with the Pacers, but he appears to have changed that with the Jazz. Teague is an attacker with the ball who is definitely more of a traditional point guard.

I know a lot of people are looking at their early season production and putting extra pressure on Teague to perform. Those people seem to want to put blame on Teague for his slow start, but I believe they simply need more shooting and better perimeter defense around him. It’s hard to succeed with Monta Ellis at shooting guard in a defensive switch scheme and on offense when he is an off-ball liability.

But credit to George Hill for working hard this offseason and being ready to have an impressive season with the Utah Jazz.

Christian: I would say Jeff Teague looks to impact the offense himself. He charges at it head-first, rather than Hill, who oftentimes allows the offense come to him. Paul George needs major help carrying the offensive load in Indy and Jeff Teague may be the best help for the cause in which George has had since he was handed the reigns to the team.

Me (full homer take here): Come on guys we know who is better and he’s a boss. I mean Just look what he did to Dallas.

After everything that happened post the Roy Hibbert fallout, do you think this is a reason Hill was traded? Is there any indication Hill’s relationship with Larry Bird might have been strained a la David West?

Grant: That may have very well been a contributing factor in George Hill’s mind about why he didn’t want to re-sign with the Pacers. But I do believe he was traded because he wasn’t going to re-sign when his contract expired and the Pacers wanted to acquire an attacking point guard instead of more of a shooting guard.

Hill wasn’t nearly the aggressive attacker that he has been on Utah, he had more shooting guard tendencies as a floor spacer. It wasn’t because of a lack of touches either, he had opportunities to attack on drives and in pick-and-rolls, but perhaps he went into a vigorous offseason like he did the year that Paul George got hurt and unleashed his best basketball.

Christian: I think a big reason why George Hill was traded and Frank Vogel was not brought back is the fact the team was in regression. Hibbert and West had moved on and the team continued to fall. Paul George needed major help, as was evident in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. So in order to get an impact player to Indy, they had to trade an integral piece in Hill.

It was a risky decision on both Hill and Vogel, but the Pacers are hoping it works well in time. On paper, it should be a winning situation with the Jazz, Hawks, and Pacers — something that rarely happens.

I think there were some sour grapes AFTER Hill was traded, yet I do not believe there was a major rift between Hill and Larry Bird outside of the fact the team was in regression. It was the handling of the trade, notifying George Hill of the trade, etc that created a rift, especially through the media. Hill has been great for the Jazz thus far, so I don’t think think there’s been any love lost.

How are C.J. Miles and Al Jefferson faring with the Pacers? We’ve heard the defense has fallen off a cliff; is Big Al part of the problem or is he doing alright?

Grant: C.J. is doing a tremendous job right now. He has been the glue that has held them together from completely falling apart right now. His perimeter shooting alone has been valuable, but he has shown to have improved as a defender and has added a bit of versatility to his offensive game.

He is now a more aggressive lane penetrator and that has helped the offense since teams have to respect that element of his game.

As far as Al Jefferson, he has been an absolute disaster so far. His lack of mobility on defense has made him into a complete liability and has led to opposing teams being able to rip him apart in the pick-and-roll and in help defense when they space the floor with a stretch five. Also, he has shown an inability to protect the rim too, so he’s been a defensive liability.

As for the offensive end of the floor, Indiana lacks a variety of perimeter shooting threats so he gets double teamed basically every time he touches the ball in the post, which has made him a non-factor on offense. Indiana lacks a facilitator in their second unit too so he’s not being setup for good shots, which has made him a void on offense.

Kevin Seraphin appears to be a far superior for his role.

Christian: C.J. Miles is playing — dare I say — the best basketball of his career. He’s shooting the ball tremendously at 49.6 percent from the field and 49.1 percent from three-point land, and he is outplaying Monta Ellis — recently earning Miles a starting spot at the shooting guard position. “3-J” Miles has been an excellent fit and is finally looking more than comfortable in Indy. Offense is finding him whereas he is not needing to create it himself. Pacer fans are very happy with him through 11 games.

Al Jefferson has been decent, but has not been the game-changer I was hoping for in the second unit. Perhaps he is still getting a feel for his new environment with the Indiana Pacers, but Kevin Seraphin is knocking on the door. Based off the Pacers’ last victory, Seraphin may very well consume Jefferson’s minutes. Regardless, it is nice to have a strong bench, which has definitely not been the case in seasons’ pasts for Indy.

Me: Give these guys a hand. I feel like I understand the Pacers better by just having a 20 minute discussion with them. Thanks for all of your input fellas!

Since we talked about C.J. Miles a bit, I figured I’d feature this tweet from Grant:

When it comes down to it, the Hawks seem to have lost the most value in this trade. Based on what everyone has said about C.J. and my own personal feelings. It appears CJ Miles, who is still enjoying martial bliss, would be a solid fit on pretty much any team that needs shooting. #OnceAJazzmanAlwaysAJazzman.

You’ve got to admit C.J. has been impressive. Something you wouldn’t know by having watched him play the Jazz in person when he was here last year. He still has love for the Jazz and the fans and I hope we all reciprocate. I hope Big Al finds his groove too. Always happy to root for Jazz East! The Pacers may be challenging the Hawks for that title.