Cleveland Cavaliers Scribbles on Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Chauncey Billups — Terry Pluto
CLEVELAND, OHIO — Scribbles in my Cleveland Cavaliers notebook while waiting for Chauncey Billups to decide if he wants to be general manager:
1. I’m told the Indiana Pacers don’t want Kevin Love, at least not right now. Their goal is young players and draft picks. They definitely want to trade Paul George. It would be a shock if they open the season with him on the roster. Indiana knows George will leave via free agency in the summer of 2018.
2. The Pacers did talk to the Los Angeles Lakers about a package starting with Brandon Ingram, but the 19-year-old forward is exactly the kind of athletic player Magic Johnson wants on his team. He averaged 9.4 points and 4.0 rebounds as a rookie last season.
3. I had suggested the Cavs make a three-way deal with Love going to the Boston Celtics for picks, then those draft picks headed to the Pacers for George. One NBA executive told me the problem is the Celtics also want George. He believes Boston could end up being the destination for George because the Celtics have the picks and some young players with appeal to Indiana.
4. It would take too many scribbles to list all of Boston’s future first-round draft picks. The Celtics have three in 2018, including ones belonging to the Lakers and Brooklyn Nets. They could have as many as four in 2019 … and three more in 2020. Some of those picks have conditions attached to them. Bottom line is no team is in better position to trade picks for a veteran player than Boston.
5. Most of the league was shocked by the Jimmy…