If you believe the rumors, Paul George to the Los Angles Lakers no longer appears to be imminent. The Indiana Pacers star may want to play for his hometown Lakers, but the Pacers front office may be intent to wait it out and let Thursday’s NBA Draft take place with George still on the roster.
George informed the Pacers through his agent on Friday that he intends to hit free agency next summer, which set off a mad scramble for the rights to George’s last year under contract. The Cavaliers were initially interested, but the Lakers’ trade of D’Angelo Russell on Tuesday sets up a scenario where LA can draft Lonzo Ball and handle a max deal for both Paul George and, say, LeBron James should he decide he actually wants to play for the team.
But getting George to the Lakers was expected to happen before the Draft. Not so anymore, according to the Indianapolis Star.
With the draft approaching, the Pacers, according to sources, are optimistic that other teams’ offers for George will become more enticing Thursday afternoon before the draft that night. Pritchard wants to receive the most compensation possible in exchange for George, but the All-Star’s value throughout the league, especially with his known desire to join the Lakers, is limited since he’s likely to only spend one season with his new team.
Those factors, according to a source, could lead the Pacers into taking offers throughout the summer, and potentially into training camp, to complete a deal. If a trade is agreed upon, George plans to play out his contract and become free agent next summer.
Pritchard wants to get the most for his asset here and that makes sense, but there’s danger in waiting until after the draft. George’s future is just one of the many moves that will be made this summer, and the closer we get to free agency the more it’s possible the return for George diminishes.
One source said George’s trade value would continue to drop in the league if a deal is not in place and finished after the draft. Such a situation would potentially put the Pacers in one of the most tenuous positions in the league entering next season.
The story called the potential situation for the Pacers “tenuous,” which is a nice way of saying the start of a potential rebuild could be completely botched here. We’ve already seen reports that the Pacers and Lakers couldn’t get the Kings to help them out, including a move that could have gotten them the 27 and 28th picks in Thursday’s draft. That means that talks are certainly ongoing for George, but a delay in the proceedings is definitely not a good sign for either side.
