Trade rumors over the last few weeks have been through the roof, especially ones concerning Indiana Pacers star Paul George, who publicly told the franchise that he will be leaving in the summer of 2018. George left the Pacers no choice but to trade him, and during the past week, they have been working with multiple teams to get a deal done.
The Paul George rumors
The Los Angeles Lakers are George’s preferred destination, but the Pacers are currently talking to teams that would take a one-year rental. The Boston Celtics have been one team heavily involved in George trade talks, but nothing has happened.
The Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, and Los Angeles Clippers have shown interest as well. The Minnesota Timberwolves attempted to trade for George as well, but eventually acquired Jimmy Butler.
Another notable team that has been aggressively pursuing George is the Cleveland Cavaliers. After losing in the Finals to the Golden State Warriors in five games, they have been looking to improve their roster dramatically so they can put up a better fight.
The Cavaliers had the chance to land two major superstars
Stephen A. Smith stated during his podcast show that there was a five-team mega deal that would have sent George and Carmelo Anthony to the Cavaliers. The deal fell apart because no one was willing to acquire Kevin Love.
Other pieces f the deal are unknown, but the Cavaliers were definitely working hard to acquire both George and Anthony hoping it would put them over the top. However, Love and his unfriendly contract have pushed teams away. He is owed approximately $72.3 million over the next three seasons, considering he picks up his player option in the final year of his contract.
With the way Love has performed during the playoffs, his trade value has dropped considerably. At this stage of his career, he is not seen as a franchise player anymore. Therefore, the Cavaliers are pretty much stuck with Love and possibly the rest of the roster until their contracts expire. They have no financial flexibility to upgrade the roster this summer, which may also hurt the chances of LeBron James staying with the team next summer.
In his podcast, Smith also mentions that Anthony’s hesitancy nixed the deal since he has a no-trade clause in his contract. Anthony’s intentions are still to remain in New York, which makes trading him a lot harder. His contract ends in the summer of 2019 if he picks up his player option for the 2018-19 season.