The Indiana Pacers are trying to trade Paul George in the wake of the superstar reportedly telling the team he will not sign an extension.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported on Sunday that George wants to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, but that hasn’t stopped the Pacers from calling other teams about a potential trade.
Sources: Indiana's Kevin Pritchard engaging teams on trading Paul George, but so far, not Lakers. There's a rental market, but how robust? https://t.co/oM9XrATMr9
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 18, 2017
George grew up in L.A., and there have been numerous reports indicating he is intent on signing with the Lakers next summer. Because of that, the Lakers really have no reason to offer much in a trade for the 27-year-old. They’d rather wait another season than give up anything of significant value.
Indiana’s best chance at trading George could be to a contending team that feels the worst case scenario would be renting George for a season. Ideally, that team would be able to take the next year to convince George to sign an extension. However, without an assurance from George that he won’t bolt for L.A. when he becomes a free agent, the return for the Pacers will likely be quite low.
If the Pacers believe there is no way they can convince George to stay, they might have to take whatever they can get for him this offseason. We know one team fans are going to be thinking of that would make for an exciting landing spot.
