NBA trade rumors: For teams chasing Paul George, Lakers problem persists
When it comes to the hunt for Pacers forward Paul George, Laker-phobia still reigns, and is still complicating the team’s efforts to move him.
Indiana general manager Kevin Pritchard is trying to spin some gold out of the straw that George left for him when it hit the media last week that George was bent on heading to LA. It’s tough to trade a guy when the perception sticks that he wants to be elsewhere, one way or the other. George is a free agent next summer, and originally told the Pacers (twice) that he wants to go home to Southern California.
No one’s forgetting that, much as the Pacers would like them to.
But it has not stopped teams like the Cavaliers (willing to offer Kevin Love, likely as part of a three-team deal) and Celtics (who own, potentially, two top-five picks in next year’s draft) from engaging in serious talks with the Pacers about George. And there are still darkhorses in the George race, like the Spurs, Clippers and Rockets.
USA Today reported that George could be swayed to re-sign with a contender next summer, and the Pacers hope that will grease the wheels on George talks in the coming days. Pritchard is trying to sell the idea that he’s no longer trying to peddle a player who is going to be gone in a year, but, rather, is offering up a bone fide star who just might stay put in Cleveland, Boston or anywhere he can win.
But teams considering a move for George still are dealing with a fear of the Lakers. Even as George’s camp backs off his focus on the Lakers and LA, those bidding for George are treating him like an uncertain proposition, unwilling to offer the…