Report: Lakers won't part with young assets to acquire George
If Paul George is gung-ho on becoming a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, his only shot may be through unrestricted free agency and not via a trade from the Indiana Pacers.
Related - Report: Paul George told Pacers he intends to leave in 2018
With a core group of players all 25 years of age or younger, the Lakers are reportedly unwilling to part ways with any of those assets in a deal with Indiana, sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
Knowing that George will walk next summer, it would make sense for the Pacers to push for a trade to avoid having him leave for nothing. The four-time All-Star does intend to play out the entire 2017-18 campaign, so the pressure is now on general manager Kevin Pritchard to land some sort of compensation before George can opt out.
Los Angeles will have ample cap room to sign him outright in 2018, so there's basically no need for the team to jump the gun on a move and cater to the Pacers.
Indiana has qualified for the playoffs each of the past two seasons, only to be bounced from the opening round both times, including a four-game sweep at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers this year. The team's lack of success is reportedly part of the reason why George wants a new change of scenery.
In 75 appearances during the 2016-17 season, George averaged 23.7 points on 46.1 percent shooting and 39.3 percent from behind the arc, along with 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals in 35.9 minutes. He missed out on being named to an All-NBA Team, which would have allowed him to re-sign with Indiana for the Designated Player Veteran Exception worth $207 million over five years.