Tony Jones: Pacers got laughed at after dealing Paul George. Who’s laughing now?

Kevin Pritchard is smarter than all of us.

Or at least he was in July.

Remember when the Indiana Pacers general manager traded superstar forward Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder? The deal was roundly — and loudly — panned at the time.

Yes, the trade had to be made. George made it clear he wanted out of Indiana and wouldn’t be re-signing with the team in free agency this summer. But everybody thought the Pacers’ GM got swindled.

To recap: Indiana brought back shooting guard Victor Oladipo and acquired young power forward Domantas Sabonis in exchange for George, widely perceived as one of the top players in the NBA. They didn’t even receive a first round draft pick. And Pritchard pulled the trigger with rumored — and potentially better — offers from Cleveland and Denver on the table.

I remember the backlash to the trade because, well, I was a part of the backlash. I thought Pritchard dealt George too quickly, when he could have held out for better options. I didn’t think Oladipo and his contract was a great return for one of the best small forwards in the league. I thought OKC general manager Sam Presti pulled a heist in obtaining George and pairing him with Russell Westbrook, and later Carmelo Anthony.

So, yes, I was wrong. Basketball twitter was wrong. The NBA was wrong. And Pritchard was right.

Oladipo has morphed into one of the best shooting guards in the league, and without question should be an Eastern Conference all-star come February. He’s averaging 24.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. He’s turned into the slashing, do-it-all athlete the Orlando Magic were hoping he’d be when they drafted him in 2013.

Sabonis is averaging 12 points, to go along with 8.2 rebounds per game. He has provided a dynamic presence for the Pacers on the interior. He’s shooting 38 percent from 3-point range. He averages two assists per game, and he has established himself as a solid NBA starter in his second season out of Gonzaga.

Considering the position Indiana was in this summer, if Sabonis was all they got and he turned out this well, that would almost be considered a win for the Pacers. The fact that they got an all-star and a starter for a disgruntled George makes this a no-brainer.

Indiana won the trade.

Yes, George is averaging almost 20 points a game, and yes, he’s playing well for the Thunder. But small market teams never get full value for star players they are forced to trade, and this is one of the few times that isn’t the case.

Oladipo has outperformed George this season. And the Pacers, 18-14 this season and sitting fourth in the East, have outperformed the Thunder.

That said, Oklahoma City has found its footing of late. The Thunder have won four of their last five. They are 16-15 and looking better after a rough start. So they still have time to pass the Pacers.

Oladipo��s breakout season has kind of come out of nowhere. He has always been able to score, but he’s become a terror to deal with on both ends. In this case, and with Sabonis, we plead guilty to impatience.

Today’s social media-fed culture wants immediate results, and basketball judgement is no different. Oladipo struggled with his shooting and decision-making in his NBA infancy, and the basketball world was quick to label him as a bust. The same thing happened with Sabonis. The same thing happened in Washington with Otto Porter. The same thing is happening in Utah with Dante Exum, who is still just 22 years old.

Basketball players improve, some faster than others. It took Oladipo a few years to find his footing. But by that time, Orlando and OKC had given up on him, and now Pritchard and the Pacers are reaping the benefits. If anything, Oladipo should be a cautionary tale to GMs going forward. Orlando traded him for Serge Ibaka, and then traded Ibaka for Terrence Ross, who is currently averaging nine points per game.

As for Pritchard, he’s rightfully taking a victory lap. As he should. The Pacers’ GM took a ton of heat for making that deal. But he saw something in Oladipo and Sabonis the rest of us didn’t. It has turned into a deal so good for the Pacers that it should give Pritchard some immunity from criticism in future deals.

Clearly, he’s smarter than the rest of us.