Paul George has two more years left on his contract with the Indiana Pacers, and he has a player option on the final year of it. Considering that the small forward hasn't had much success with the Pacers so far in his career, he is expected to leave the team and go somewhere else. Preferably, George would join a championship contender and try to win a championship ring while he is still in his prime.
George just recently turned 27 and despite his injuries, he is still one of the top small forwards in the league. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 23.7 points per game last season, but the Indiana Pacers had another short postseason run.
Even though they put up a fight, the Pacers were swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it became obvious that they are far from being a championship contender.
Miami Heat and Paul George - A perfect match
Miami Heat finished only one game behind the Indiana Pacers in the regular season, and they showed they have a winning mentality. Despite starting the season 11-30, the Heat turned things around and they were 30-11 in the second half of the season. However, they didn't make the playoffs as they lost the tiebreaker against the Chicago Bulls.
The Heat dealt with numerous injuries and they had a lot of new players on the team. Furthermore, Dwyane Wade left the team last summer and Chris Bosh was ruled out for the season, which made it difficult to figure things out at the beginning.
In spite of all these issues, the Heat were one of the best teams in the season and it seemed that if they had another star player on the roster, they would have been one of the best teams in the East.
Adding Paul George to the team would pay off for the Heat as they would have an incredible small forward in their starting lineup.
Beside George, Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside would be star players on the team, and it seems that this core could achieve significant results and make noise in the playoffs.
Heat's options
Paul George will be paid $19.5 million next season and the Heat would need to trade two or more players for him. One of the options for Miami would be trading Wayne Ellington, Josh McRoberts and Tyler Johnson to the Pacers, but it would be a risky move if George decides to opt out of his contract just a year after.
On a positive side, the Heat would get rid of Johnson's contract which will raise to $19.2 million per year in 2019 and 2020.
Another option for the Heat is to wait for 2018 when George becomes a free agent. Since they cleared Chris Bosh's contract off the books, the Heat will have nearly $40 million in cap space, and they'll be able to use it on a big-name free agent.
