NBA Trade Rumors: Paul George heading to the Lakers, but at what cost?

The NBA Trade Deadline is Thursday afternoon and there are still a ton of rumors floating around of players who could be having new homes as of Friday. One name that has been linked to being on the move before is Paul George. It seems that one of the teams that is highly interested in George is the Los Angeles Lakers. While nothing has come from the talks, it seems that George is not going to make it easy for the Pacers.

[Jon]

As Sam Amick of USA Today reported, George does not want to leave the Pacers if they can win. Unfortunately, when the phones in an NBA front office go off cause we are close to the deadline, teams may not have an option. It was also reported that George has met with Pacers ownership and basically told him that the Hooiser state is the place for him and we would love nothing more than to go down as one of the greatest Pacers of all-time. However, the condition of Paul George to stay in Indiana is that the Pacers need to contend for the NBA title.

This situation now puts Pacers president Larry Bird in a tough spot. The pressure for him to succeed in Indiana will go up if no deal is done after the trade deadline comes on Thursday. However, being that Paul George is a free agent in 2018, the Pacers want to try to get something in return for him now. If the Pacers future is bleak, then it’s a no-brainier that George would be willing to sign with his hometown Lakers. Since Magic Johnson took over as team president of the Lakers Wednesday, it seems that his first goal is to fill the void of having a franchise player like a Kobe Bryant.

I can safely assure NBA fans that the next couple of hours will be worth watching ESPN or being hooked on your Twitter feeds as anything can happen prior to the deadline on Thursday.