After Paul George failed to make an All-NBA team, it seems like only a matter of time before he leaves the Indiana Pacers. They don’t have the ability to offer him a designated player extension, they aren’t built to contend for anything special, he owns a player option for 2018-19, and his interest in the Los Angeles Lakers probably grows by the day.
Mix all these ingredients into a bowl, and you have a whole lot of motivation for the Pacers to trade George now before they risk losing him for nothing next summer. Except, according to Basketball Insiders’ Eric Pincus, they’re not yet at that point:
Talking to folks around the league, the Pacers have not yet solicited offers/trade talks for Paul George. https://t.co/PG2VvdRUKd
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) June 6, 2017
This isn’t particularly surprising. The draft is still a few weeks away, so teams with picks are still figuring out what they’ll do. Most prospective George suitors will probably even wait until after the free-agency dust settles, so they can see what the roster will look like after the fact.
Of all potential landing spots, the Boston Celtics, obviously, stand out most. They have the best mix of assets. But you know they’ll want to try making a slash in free agency before they turn around and hit the trade market. They have the flexibility to sign a max or near-max star, then turn around trade for another one.
Other buyers will end up taking this approach as well. There’s a chance the George chatter heats up leading into and on draft night, but it’s more likely speculation reaches fever pitch in July, either during or after the height of free agency—at which time the Pacers will have a better grasp of their own roster outlook.
