Recent Lakers Rumors have been about forward Paul George. Are the Lakers still talking with the Pacers about a trade?
Paul George informed the Indiana Pacers that in 2018 he will become a free agent and look to join the Lakers. Since then teams have been plenty of Lakers rumors about putting together trade packages to land George. While at first, it seemed L.A. would wait it out and try to sign George as a free agent in 2018, they changed their approach and were in pursuit of him along with many other teams.
Now, whoever George signs with, he will likely just be a rental to for a year before his free agency. Which begs the question why the Lakers would be willing to trade for him at all considering they are his intended destination. But rather than hope George’s mind doesn’t change after a year (especially one where he could potentially end up on the Cleveland Cavaliers and experience a winning culture), Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka are being aggressive in their pursuit of George in the present.
Potential trade packages for George prior to the draft included the No.27 and 28 picks along with Jordan Clarkson or Julius Randle. But the Pacers didn’t budge for those options and a deal was never done. Now it seems that trade talks between the Lakers and Indiana have stalled. Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reports that trade talks between the two organizations died before the draft.
Last I heard talks with Lakers died off two days before the draft. Pacers not eager to help Lakers land PG unless it favors them. https://t.co/HrdV0E1gm5
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) June 26, 2017
The Pacers just don’t want what L.A. is offering and it’s likely that unless the Lakers are willing to add Brandon Ingram or Lonzo Ball in a trade package, Indiana will look elsewhere. As for L.A., they seem prepared to wait out the Paul George sweepstakes if the Pacers don’t budge and will try to sign him in 2018.
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After their blockbuster trade of D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets, the Lakers freed up enough cap space for George and potentially another max free agent in 2018. Unless trade talks heat up again once free agency begins, L.A.’s best chance at luring PG to the purple and gold may be Lonzo’s play and the Lakers’ ability to sign another free agent along with him.