Following the Los Angeles Lakers‘ decision to trade guard D'Angelo Russell on Monday afternoon, it has presumably put them on the fast track to putting forth a concerted effort in landing Indiana Pacers All-Star forward Paul George.
In light of that, David Aldridge of NBA.com is reporting that the Lakers had approached the Sacramento Kings for a major deal involving swapping first-round draft picks.
Lakers, per sources, engaged Sacramento in talks that would have sent the 2nd pick to the Kings for Sac’s two 1st-rounders (5 and 10) (1/2)
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 21, 2017
Lakers would have then packaged one of the Kings’ picks w/27 & 28 along w/player in offer to Indy for Paul George. But Kings said no (2/2).
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) June 21, 2017
This trade would have significantly boosted the Lakers' odds of landing George ahead of the 2017 NBA Draft on Thursday night. It would have given them higher draft picks to dangle along with possibly retaining a top-five selection with a chance to still grab one of the top point guards in this year's class of prospects.
Los Angeles is clearly looking for any way possible to nudge the Pacers toward agreeing to a deal as the two sides are at a standstill with the current offer of the 27th and 28th overall selections in this year's draft along with either Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson not moving the needle enough to hammer out a trade.
I'm told Lakers + Pacers currently at standstill on Paul George trade involving either Randle or Clarkson & 27th and 28th pick.
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) June 21, 2017
Keep in mind, there are several other teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, and Toronto Raptors who are all interested in acquiring the 27-year-old.
Regardless of what transpires over the next couple of days, it's clear that the Lakers are all in on landing George well ahead of next offseason.
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