With the NBA trade deadline (Feb. 23) about two months away, rumors are starting to float around the league about players that could be on the move. Paul George, who was mentioned in trade rumors on more than one occasion over the summer, is an attractive trade target for many teams looking to take advantage of the Indiana Pacers’ recent struggles.
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Indiana hasn’t lived up to expectations up to this point with George and company barely holding onto the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 15-14. George is playing well, but another solid season for the Los Angeles native hasn’t resulted in the Pacers being a legitime threat in the East.
With the Pacers struggling and the NBA trade deadline approaching, teams are apparently showing interest in the perennial All-Star. Although interest is being shown, Indiana appears to be sticking by their stance not to trade George as Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical made clear in his recent podcast (transcription via Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk):
“I know teams have been calling Indiana, and they’re going to ask about Paul George. And the answer is, “Absolutely, positively no. He is not available. There is no conversation to be had. Don’t even make offers to us. We’re not moving Paul George.”
The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the teams linked to George during the NBA offseason. There was talk of the team considering making a blockbuster trade proposal to the Pacers in exchange for George which would’ve including the No. 2 overall pick (Brandon Ingram) and D’Angelo Russell.
Obviously, no deal came to fruition, and it seems as though no trade involving George is on the horizon with the deadline around the corner. George is still in the Pacers’ long-term plans and will likely continue to be a building block for the franchise along with Myles Turner and Jeff Teague.