Paul George Intends To Play Out Contract With Indiana Pacers
No prominent player in the NBA has been mentioned more in trade rumors over the last few months than Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. Although Jimmy Butler and Carmelo Anthony were expected to be the big-name thrown around more most, George has dominated the headlines and continues to do so with his future uncertain.
George has been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers more than any other team and now has been connected to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The consensus seems to be that George will ultimately head back to Los Angeles to play for his hometown Lakers once he’s a free agent next year, but Cleveland may make things interesting if they feel he’s the missing piece to their championship puzzle.
As for George himself, he’s concentrating on the Pacers with every intention of playing out the rest of his contract with the team, via ESPN:
“I am a Pacer. I am under contract, and I intend to play,” George said.
LeBron James, who many believe runs the Cavaliers organization in terms of moves made by the team, needs that extra star in Cleveland to compete with the Golden State Warriors. George could be that star, especially if the Cavaliers can pull off a trade to send Kevin Love to Indiana.
George, however, says he doesn’t have much of a relationship with LeBron nor does he talk to him about his plans for the future in the NBA, via ESPN:
“I don’t talk to LeBron at all. We don’t communicate,” George said. “I look up to LeBron, obviously. He’s been a tremendous ambassador to this game. He’s been a very huge influencer for me outside of the game, but we don’t communicate and figure out where one another’s going.”
As of right now, it seems highly unlikely that George will be playing for the Pacers beyond next season. The team will either trade him this summer or at some point before the NBA trade deadline in February if they can put more talent around him in Indiana, which may be a stretch, to say the least.
In the meantime, George can only sit around and wait to see if the Pacers bring in more talent. If not, it’ll be interesting to see if he forces the team’s hand with a trade demand and if that trade will be to the Lakers, Cavaliers or another team.
