The NBA Draft is just days away and the NBA world is descending into madness. Having already traded D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets earlier Tuesday, the Los Angeles Lakers pursued other moves with the hope of landing Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George.
George’s agent has informed the Pacers that he will leave as a free agent next season, causing them to try to get value for him now on the trade market. With George rumored to prefer signing in Los Angeles next summer, the Lakers appear to be a solid trade destination, as landing him now would prevent him from going elsewhere and changing his mind before next summer.
The Pacers haven’t accepted any of the Lakers’ offers just yet, and David Aldridge of TNT reports that Los Angeles is searching for another first round pick they can send to Indiana in a deal:
Lakers, per sources, engaged Sacramento in talks that would have sent the 2nd pick to the Kings for Sac’s two 1st-rounders (5 and 10) (1/2)
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) June 21, 2017
Lakers would have then packaged one of the Kings’ picks w/27 & 28 along w/player in offer to Indy for Paul George. But Kings said no (2/2).
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) June 21, 2017
Obviously, it would have been a huge surprise if the Lakers had parted with the second pick, which they are likely to use to select Lonzo Ball, just to get more picks to appease the Pacers.
With George only having one year remaining on his deal and having made his plans to join the Lakers next summer known, it would appear that his trade value is seriously suppressed.
That said, Aldridge’s report doesn’t make it clear whether there were other pieces in the Sacramento deal or if those talks were held before or after the Lakers obtained another pick in the D’Angelo Russell trade. With the draft almost upon us, the rumors are sure to heat up from here.