Report: Lakers unwilling to part with young talent in Paul George trade

If Paul George is going to land with the Los Angeles Lakers, it sounds as if it will be via free agency, not a trade.

Sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne on Sunday that the Lakers are currently unwilling to part with any of their talented young pieces to acquire George in a trade before he hits free agency.

That likely means D’Angelo Russell, Brandon Ingram, and Julius Randle, at the very least, are not going to be centerpieces in any effort to land George from the Indiana Pacers.

George has reportedly made clear that he will leave the Pacers next summer and would prefer to join the Lakers. There may have been some thinking that the Lakers may have jumped now to make a deal to bring him in before it even gets that far, but it doesn’t sound like that’s on the table, and with good reason.