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The Los Angeles Lakers have long been rumored to be the potential future destination for Indiana Pacers star forward Paul George. So much so, that George has already told the Pacers front office that he would be leaving town during 2018 free agency and likely heading to the Lakers, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
All-Star forward Paul George has informed the Indiana Pacers that he plans to become a free agent in the summer of 2018 and will leave the franchise – preferably for the Los Angeles Lakers
Obviously, when this happened it led to instant trade rumors surrounding George, as the Pacers would be left empty handed if he left next offseason as a free agent. And after just days, it seems that the Lakers and Pacers have connected to begin talking about a possible deal that would send George to Los Angeles, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne.
League sources tell @RamonaShelburne and me: The Pacers and Lakers have engaged on Paul George trade talks in advance of Thursday’s draft.
The terms of a potential deal are unknown, but the Lakers have already stated they will not trade the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA draft or last year’s pick Brandon Ingram, according to Bleacher Report. In turn, this makes for an interesting situation and leaves it completely wide open as to what the Lakers could be willing to trade for George.
In a recent trade rumor from ESPN’s Chad Ford, the Lakers were apparently “dangling” D’Angelo Russell in an attempt to get another top-12 pick in the draft. In turn, you’d have to imagine that he’s a possible option to be included in the George trade, along with his backcourt mate in shooting guard Jordan Clarkson.
This comes on the heels of the Cleveland Cavaliers apparently engaging in some level of talks with the Pacers about George, according to ESPN. As pointed out, the Cavaliers were also willing to enter into trade talks without assurances that he’d commit to a long-term deal with the team. The reason being is that they were “confident” that Cleveland’s “championship culture and overall atmosphere could sway George” to want to remain in town after 2017.