Paul George of the Indiana Pacers has had quite the couple weeks. He was named an all-star, which was the better part of those couple weeks. The news that was more appetizing, was when his name was caught up in trade rumors. Paul George is in a tough spot, as he is on an average NBA team that is right in the middle of needing pieces around them and needing to start over. George isn't a free agent until 2018, but if the Pacers want to keep him they'll need to do the first option rather than the second.
Pick up some pieces
If the Pacers want to keep George beyond 2018, they will need to add some pieces.
The Pacers have good pieces already in Jeff Teague and Myles Turner. Turner is young though and even though he looks like a promising player, he doesn't look like that star that will keep George in Indiana. The Pacers team besides these players are full of role players which explains why they have an average 30-28 record this season. GM Larry Bird has done an exceptional job throughout the years, but this is the time to make moves and add star pieces in order to keep your star in Paul George. The Pacers had George's name in trade rumors and according to George he wasn't really informed about this as well as he should've been if he was your "star player." George wants to win now, and it's crazy to think he was just in that position to a few years ago, when he was battling King James and the Heat in the eastern conference finals.
Well, the core from that team is now gone besides George, and George is now looking at Bird and management to see if they are gonna give him pieces he needs or if he needs to start packing.
L.A Living
So let me play devil's advocate for a minute. Let's say Bird decides not to give George the pieces he needs, and George decides to leave in 2018.
Where would George go? Well, there is only one logical place he would want to go if he was to leave the Pacers. He would be looking at the L. A Lakers, as a possible landing spot in 2018. George was a Lakers fan growing up in Palmdale, California and with the newly hired president of basketball operations Magic Johnson, George could be attracted to L.A in 2018.
The only problem would be if the Lakers weren't contenders at that time. George made it clear he wants to win, and if Magic can pull off the unthinkable and make the Lakers contenders in a season and a half, that could be the motivation George needs to come back home. ESPN's Zach Lowe explains "The Lakers threat to sign George in 2018 is very, very real. The Pacers will have limited means to jolt their roster in the interim, barring a huge surprise in free agency. Expect George talks to start again in the summer" (ESPN). George was reportedly "hell-bent," on going to L.A if there is no championship opportunity in Indiana. The possibility of PG-13 in L.A is real and this would be exactly what the Lakers need.
I repeat: Paul George - barring a title chance in Indy - is hell-bent on heading for Laker Land. This message has been sent throughout NBA.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 23, 2017
Paul George is a star in the league proving his worth on both sides of the ball. He is only 26-years old, and he is about to hit his peak. It looks like he doesn't want to waste those years as he wants to win now, either in Indiana or L.A. Bird needs to make some moves, or see his star player walk out the door in 2018.
