Paul George is under contract with the Indiana Pacers for one more season until he is a free agent in 2018, but it is very possible he could get traded. Many have been pegging the Los Angeles Lakers as the No. 1 destination for the star wing.
A lot of Lakers fans, however, aren't for that. Trading for PG means the Lakers would have to most likely give up their No. 2 pick in the draft. With that, they would be better off keeping the pick and trying to sign him in the 2018 free agency instead.
The franchise is thinking the same thing:
According to the always-plugged-in Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical, the Lakers “are pretty confident and have a great deal of belief that they're in position to get Paul George in 2018 whether he stays in Indiana or is traded elsewhere.”PG to LA in 2018? I guess we will see. He does seem to have the Boston Celtics on his mind, though.
If that’s true, it would mean that the Lakers wouldn’t have to give up any members of their young core for George and could sign him into cap space next summer, something Wojnarowski essentially confirmed.
“They don't have to give assets up to go and try to trade for him. In fact, I think they've been encouraged to do just the opposite,” Wojnarowski said. “If Paul George is gonna go there he wants them to have assets, he wants them to be as good of a team as they can when he walks in.”
