The NBA trade deadline has come and gone. Superstar Paul George, however, remains with the Indiana Pacers despite trade rumors involving the California native possibly being dealt to the Los Angeles Lakers or at the very least hoping to land with the team in the near future.
Once the trade deadline and practice was over for the Pacers, George addressed these rumors surrounding his future with the team and potential future with the Lakers, via Clark Wade of IndyStar.com:
Watch: Is #Pacers Paul George headed to L.A.? PG responds. More Pacers coverage at https://t.co/33Ugb8JEvw pic.twitter.com/WkgkN97yWO
— Clark Wade (@ClarkWade34) February 23, 2017
At this point, George is in Indiana and will do everything within his power to help lead the Pacers to the franchise’s first NBA championship. George is clearly committed to his current team and claims to have good dialogue with the team even though he wasn’t happy about the lack of communication while the trade rumors were swirling, via Wade:
“I’m committed here,” George said then. “Myself and the front office, we’ve had great talks. I’ve got a job to do and I’m trying to turn a season around, trying to get us playing better. That’s where my mind is. It’s easy to block out everything else. I can’t allow that to weigh on me. This is what’s important right now.”
Unless the Pacers can miraculously turn things around this season and win a title, these rumors linking him to the Lakers will continue. Once the NBA offseason gets underway, more talk of George’s interesting in joining the storied franchise and more trade rumors will likely surface while being one of the more hot topics of the upcoming summer.
George fits the mold of the kind of superstar the Lakers would love to get their hands on if given the ideal opportunity. Los Angeles may also be in a better position to acquire him in the offseason if they end up keeping their first-round draft pick which is top-3 protected.
Anything can happen from here on out, but one thing seems for certain, Paul-George-to-the-Lakers talk is likely far from over.
