Subscribe
Follow Us
One of the biggest storylines over the last few months has been Paul George‘s future with the Indiana Pacers beyond his current contract.
There have been various reports over that span indicating George has some significant interest in joining the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. According to Kevin O' Connor of The Ringer, this alone has pushed many teams away from possibly acquiring the All-Star forward.
You should buy stock in George heading to L.A. The vibe I’ve gotten from talking to NBA executives and agents over the past few weeks is that teams aren’t willing to sell the farm for George because of the possibility that he’ll sign with the Lakers is so strong. George is better than both Irving and Love — he’s a rare two-way superstar. He’s also a player whom LeBron respects. If George does indeed go to L.A., the Lakers would have to move their two albatross contracts in Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov in order to also add LeBron. They have picks (the Rockets’ 2017 first-rounder and a couple of extra second-rounders over the next few years) and young assets (Julius Randle) that could be used to sweeten a package deal. They should try to unload those contracts as soon as they can this summer, largely to clear the books, but also to prepare for a splash in 2018.
The fact that there is much uncertainty about whether he will sign a new deal beyond his contract creates some reasonable pause around the league because it would require a huge haul in exchange for the 27-year-old. He is set to enter the fourth year of his five-year, $91.5 million deal that includes a player option worth $20.7 million for the 2018-19 season.
If any team such as the Boston Celtics were to make a deal for him, it could backfire on them because of his potential unwillingness to stay long-term. The Cleveland Cavaliers could also enter the picture depending on how things pan out over the rest of the NBA Finals with the possibility of putting Kevin Love on the table in a trade offer.
All of this shifts the ball in the Lakers' court to acquire George. This may lead to them to making a move for him this offseason or prior to next season's trade deadline. Ultimately, things could heat up on that front concerning George in the coming months.
