Paul George rumors continue to heat up as the NBA Draft nears. The Indiana Pacers would seemingly like to get a deal done sooner rather than later and have now begun discussing a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers.
With all of the rumors suggesting that George would join the Lakers in 2018 once he hits free agency, many have suggested that the Lakers could wait until then and not give up any assets for the All-Star.
The Lakers, however, now have a different thought process as they reportedly prefer to add George now rather than wait until next summer, according to Mike Bresnahan of Spectrum SportsNet:
Following up @ESPNSteinLine + @ramonashelburne report, LAL would rather acquire Paul George now than FA '18, BUT wary of giving up too much.
— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) June 20, 2017
With the Lakers now eyeing adding George immediately, a trade could be finalized at any time. What the Lakers would give up in such a deal remains to be seen as they have all of the leverage right now with George’s camp pushing for them over any other team.
The Lakers are reportedly refusing to include Brandon Ingram or their No. 2 pick in any George deal and with good reason. They represent the brightest stars the Lakers own and giving them up would basically put George in the same position he was in with the Pacers.
D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle share the same agent as George which leads some to believe that George would prefer for them not to be traded as well. At this point, it would seem like Jordan Clarkson and the No. 28 pick would be the most logical pieces in a George trade, but nothing is for sure.