Photo Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Paul George To Lakers Just About Official?
We’ve come to a point, where it is more realistic to see Paul George play in Lakers’ purple and gold next season than him staying in Indiana, or playing elsewhere.
The rumors about George wanting to play in Los Angeles have been around for a very long time, but the rumors are turning into facts more and more.
Since Paul George did not make any All-NBA Teams, he won’t be able to sign the designated player contract possibly worth $210 million and will become a free agent in 2018 (players can receive a starting salary of 35% of the salary cap with just eight or nine years of experience, up from the usual 30% for players in the league that long. To qualify, a player must meet one of three criteria; Win MVP in any of the three seasons before signing; Win Defensive Player of the Year the season before signing or both of two seasons before that; Make an All-NBA team the season before signing or both of two seasons before that). George told the team, that he will leave them in his 2018 free agency.
The Pacers now are forced to trade him, in order to not lose Paul George in return for nothing in the 2018 off-season.
Adding to all that, Paul George’s former Pacer teammates have said that he more or less told them that he wanted to play for the Lakers and never made a secret out of it in the locker room. (Per Sporting News)
“A SoCal native, he’s been talking about playing for his hometown team, the Lakers, for a long time. He’s never made his long-term intentions a secret within the Pacers’ locker room, according to former teammates. He wants to wear the purple and gold.”
Indiana Sports writer Marc Dykton, reported that Paul George’s move to the Los Angeles Lakers will be official soon, with only final details to be worked out.
Sources telling me Paul George to the Lakers is just about official. Working out the final details.
— Marc Dykton (@MarcD1075) June 21, 2017
Dytkon has a show on an Indiana based sports radio station, and might indeed have sources. But I’m not entirely convinced that he has these kind of connections.
No Woj, No Party…
