Since last year's trade deadline, there were multiple reports about Paul George wanting to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. In the end, the Indiana Pacers ultimately traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

As the 2017-18 NBA season approaches, the Pacers reportedly filed charges against the Lakers for tampering with Paul George. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the NBA has released the following statement:

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As the NBA states, there have been no decisions made upon the findings at this point. While the Pacers must believe the Lakers were influencing George's trade request behind-the-scenes, there needs to be concrete evidence and it will be interesting to see if anything emerges from the investigation.

After President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka traded D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets, it is no secret the Lakers are creating the necessary cap space to sign two max contract players in next year's free agency. Along with George wanting to play for his hometown, LeBron James has been heavily linked with the team should he ultimately leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Should both players remain with their respective teams, next year's free agency class also features Russell Westbrook and DeMarcus Cousins.