The Cleveland Cavaliers have pursued a three-way deal with the Indiana Pacers and Denver Nuggets in order to acquire Paul George, ESPN reported Sunday. George has informed the Pacers earlier this month about his desire to leave next year. While it seems like the Lakers are his preferred option, teams like the Cavaliers have set their eyes on George, especially after Jimmy Butler was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
George may be a one-year rental. On the other hand, LeBron James might also be a one-year rental, for he will become a free agent next summer. The Cavaliers are looking to persuade him to stay with the addition of George.
Cavaliers want Paul George
The Cleveland Cavaliers are focused on getting Paul George. It is unclear what the Indiana Pacers would receive in exchange. The Denver Nuggets, the third players in the discussed deal, have expressed interest in getting their hands on a quality power forward. Kevin Love could be their guy. It is not a secret that Love is available this off-season. The Cavaliers are trying to build a more competitive team with hopes of defeating the Golden State Warriors in a potential rematch in next year's NBA finals.
The Nuggets have also made forwards Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler available in these trade talks.
These trade talks intensified on NBA draft night, but ESPN's sources say the discussions were "nothing serious" and "very unlikely" to happen. However, the Cavaliers have not lost hope yet. The reports also point at the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs as teams who have also aggressively attempted to make a deal with the Pacers for George.
Cavaliers putting pressure on the Lakers
Paul George informed his team that he would become a free agent next summer and leave the franchise. His preferred destination would be the Lakers. The Lakers would prefer to be patient and wait to get George as a free agent.
In doing so, they would not need to trade some if their young talents. However, they might not be willing to the take the risk of letting the Pacers trade George to an elite team like the Cavaliers or Spurs this year.
George could become a one-year rental for a team, or not. George could become enamoured by the winning culture of some of these teams and ultimately choose to leave behind his dream of becoming a Laker. The Pacers look like they are putting pressure on the Lakers to offer a better deal than Julius Randle/Clarkson and a future draft pick.
George instead of Love
Replacing Kevin Love with Paul George would improve the Cavaliers? The Cavaliers would be giving up a big man who can rebound and spread the floor.
A LeBron-dictated offense does not need much more from its big man. The Cavaliers would be left with Tristan Thompson, an undersized big man who can certainly crash the boards on the offense end, but he will contribute little more to the team. The Cavaliers would also need to search for a veteran big man who could fill Love's gap and contribute right away. However, the fact that they are way over the cap will complicate their ability to do so.
Paul George is one of the best two-way players in the NBA and probably merited an All-NBA team selection. However, it is not quite certain that he'd fit in well with the Cavaliers. He would be another isolation-oriented player on the floor. The lack of ball movement is already an issue for the Cavaliers. George would only accentuate those problems. The Cavaliers need to act in this off-season, but George may not be what they need.