Give Indiana Pacers president Kevin Pritchard this: The man has guts.
Shopping Paul George is no easy task. He is a free agent after next season, and everyone expects him to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers. Any team that acquires him will do so under the guise that he’s a rental unless they can convince him to stick around long term.
And yet, according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, this didn’t stop Pritchard from trying to use the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers against one another:
Pritchard, league sources said, immediately tried to create a bidding war between the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers by intimating to both teams that the other was interested in George. Several league executives questioned why George would change his mind about going to L.A. to stay long term in Cleveland, assuming that his desire to leave Indianapolis had to do with climate and geography, along with recent rumors that LeBron James could bolt for L.A. next summer.
Can we take a moment to appreciate how awesome this is? It’s borderline insane, and we should love it.
Indeed, general managers routinely try leveraging suitors against one another. Most of the time, though, these squads are actual suitors. There’s no way the Warriors fall into this category. They would have to offer Draymond Green or Klay Thompson to make the money work, something they’re not going to entertain for a potential flight risk who will cost around $10 million more per season than either Green or Thompson if he stays.
Chances are both the Cavaliers and Warriors saw right trhough this ploy. Golden State had to know Cleveland was interested in George, because duh. Cleveland, conversely, had to know Golden State wasn’t about to chop up its Core Four one millisecond after winning a title.
Nevertheless, props to Pritchard for trying to get creative. He gets brownie points for style.
