The Pacers want to make a Paul George deal while they can still get value, but they aren’t interested in taking back Kevin Love from the Cavaliers, according to Terry Pluto of Cleveland.com. Indiana is focused on getting young players and draft picks in return for its star forward, who has announced that he will opt out of his contract next offseason and has expressed a desire to return to his hometown of Los Angeles and play for the Lakers.
The Pacers proposed a deal to the Lakers involving Brandon Ingram, the No. 2 pick in last year’s draft. However, Magic Johnson, L.A.’s president of basketball operations, doesn’t want to part with Ingram, who averaged 9.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 79 games as a rookie.
Pluto passes on several other tidbits in his latest column:
- The Celtics could have as many as 10 first-rounders over the next three years and seem like a natural facilitator to take on Love and get George to Cleveland in a three-team trade. But an unidentified NBA executive tells Pluto the Celtics also want George and are more likely to deal with the Pacers directly.
- The Bulls weren’t interested in Love either, which is why the Cavaliers had little chance of trading for Jimmy Butler. Chicago has gotten tired of being mediocre and is looking for young talent to start rebuilding around. However, Pluto says most of the league iwas “stunned” that the Bulls couldn’t get more than Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and a swap of first-rounders in return for Butler. The Celtics reportedly offered a better package that included several future draft picks.
- The Cavaliers are still waiting to hear if Chauncey Billups will accept their GM offer. Sources tell Pluto that Billups has been pursuing a GM job for more than a year, so it’s not clear why there’s a delay. Billups has never worked in an NBA front office, Pluto notes, so he would need to hire an experienced executive as an assistant. A top candidate is George David, a former assistant GM with the Pistons who has a background in scouting.
Danny needs to chill out and forget about George and Hayward. Develop your draft picks and you will be much better, Tatum and Brown will be elite players in the future and I still don’t see Utah forfeiting Hayward when he can play with Gobert and on a team that with a healthy Favors might be top 3 in the East. As for Cavs fans stop being delusional, George is not going to Cleveland to play under the shadow of Lebron and look like a ring chaser.
I think they should develop the young guys too but they’re a ways away from being legit stars in the league. If the price is right for George I would pull the trigger. They have so many draft picks and not enough room on the roster to keep them all. They need someone who can score other than Isaiah and someone who can rebound. Paul George does both well at his position.
George in Boston is not beating GS, I don’t even think Hayward and George in Boston would get it done. Danny drafted Tatum and Brown for a reason and it wasn’t to have them on the bench for 3-4 years while George and Hayward get romped by GS. Tatum and Brown have higher ceilings then George and Hayward in my opinion.
But the thing is they can get Hayward for cap space that isn’t needed if they are just waiting for GS to age out, so that’s fine either way. The acquisition cost for George should basically be match salaries and a couple picks. Not that much to give up.
Age out? Durant and Curry have another 3-4 great years if not even more. I don’t understand why Boston would tie up so much money in George and possibly Hayward when they can just start Tatum and Brown and save way more money.
I guess that I don’t see trading “assets” for a rental like PG13. He wants to go to LA and a year in Boston isn’t going to change that.
Exactly but the Celtics can afford the rental and it keeps George out of LA at least next season, which would keep the Lakers as a lower tier team, improving the value of their draft pick which the Celtics own.
Jazz won’t be a top 3 seed in the west. As for obtaining Hayward do feel so much focus on getting him could burn the Celtics unless there’s a promise but I guess the back up is Griffin which on a small deal is ok. As for George trade as long as an extension is in place at we’re not killing all our assets I’m ok. I think if they could hang on to smart, brown, Tatum and semi those 4 young guys will get time to develop.
Glad you are not the GM.
glad not every follows your narrative of no one can beat them. Same narrative was said about the 2011-2014 Heat Early 2000 Laker teams every great team. be nice if some one kicks tires and at least try but according to you everyone should bow down and watch the warriors win 10 titles.
If there’s a long term deal in place then the Celtics would have to give up even more assets in order to complete the trade. George being a one year rental makes him an affordable trade without selling the farm.
Why would the Celtics give up affordable yikes by talent to rent a guy that is going to your biggest rival? I’m so sure the fans will love watching PG13 in the Garden kicking their butts in yellow and purple after wearing Green! This makes no sense.
Get Hayward or Griffin and let it ride. Keep building through the draft … stay the course!
*young talent
Astute observation
George might not be able to avoid playing for cavs for next year. Pacers should serve him right and send him to the mistake by the lake to be LBJ’s bag man and whipping boy. That would be juicy.
Smh Lebron never gets blame for anything, more excuses and add yet another player? Come on its getting pathetic Jordan played with Pippen and dominated.
as a bulls fan i wanted a rebuild but for what we got i wouldve rather kept jimmy.
They got a 2 great shooters in Lavine and Markkanen and Kris Dunn who was buried by Thibs just like he buries every other rookie. Watch Dunn average 14-16 with 6-7 assists next season.
Lol
I hate you dionis
Magic should trade Ingram while he is hot because I do not see anything in his game game nor physical frame that says he will be a all NBAer or all star.
You are high
Kevin Durant doesn’t have the physical frame either, I agree you must be high
Ingram was flying to the rim postering last season, imagine how good he will be with this whole summer and a pass first PG like Ball getting him the ball?
Ingram has potential… but not PG-13 potential… but LA doesn’t need him 4 their rebuild…y not trade him and get PG-13 this season and get close to the playoffs because they still not gonna make it…
Ingram will be a beast, you’re uninformed
High picks fizzle out all the time.
Sure lets see high picks
Towns,Irving,Harden,Westbrook,Love,Davis,Porzingis, I could go on for days dude.
And for every successful high pick, there are just as many bad high picks.
Probably more so
Ingram will not fizzle out
The Pacers need a reality check, the number 2 pick and Ingram is a better return than the Bulls got for Jimmy Butler who has two years left on his deal and is a better player than George. No one, especially the Lakers is going to pay that and the Pacers are going to get nothing for him. Thank goodness Magic is in change I don’t have faith the previous regime would have made the right choice.
“Hanibul8us”: You’re misreading the sentence; Ingram was the number 2 pick. He’s talking about a George for Ingram swap
You’re right but the general consensus is that the Bulls got robbed in that trade so using the Butler trade as a comparison isn’t that great.
Butler is overrated. He isn’t a superstar or leader. The Bulls got back a good haul for him.
Whoever was put in charge of marketing this guy should be given an award.
……..the numbers don’t tell the full story. I watched most of those Bulls games, and his stats were beyond padded.
He played great against scrub teams, and sometimes good (mostly below average) against really good teams.
He was also a clubhouse cancer, and managed to make every single young guy despise him. Good riddance to him. Won’t be missed at all.
Yea. Just the 3rd most win shares in the league. Elite on both side side of the court. Nbd tho.
Yea, because the Bulls had no one else that could score and he’s an ISO ball, ball hog. Lol. Deceiving statistic.
Again, see comment #2, paragraph #1.
Lol, right man – between his defensive effort, ability to be a playmaker and create his own shot in that ISO ball you are so fixated on, Butler is a Top 15 player in the league. I’m not arguing the Bulls got a terrible return, but if you want to argue Butler is overrated because he’s a legitimate star people get overexcited about, then every star in this league is overrated.
He’s a very good two-way player. That’s great and all, bit at least in Chicago, his negatives outweighed his positives.
He didn’t make anyone better, was arrogant, wasn’t a leader, managed to make every single person (aside from Wade) resent him, has padded stats, and the team never improved under his “leadership.” Game over. Time to go. See ya, Jimmy!!! THAT’S why he’s overrated.
Guarantee Love goes back to beast mode when he’s not 3rd fiddle. I feel like the Kings could have been a nice trade partner or the Blazers with the 3 picks they had and Allen Crabbe if the Pacers took on another contract. But draft is over the assets are much less abundant now.
Love is playing with Lebron thats why, he is being undervalued and getting a bad rep when in reality he’s got another 5-6 years left in him to play all-star ball. Lebron is ball dominant and can’t choose whether to be a scorer or facilitator. Cavs should move Love to Utah for Favors and Hood. Utah re-signs Hayward and Hill and Cleveland gets way better defensively with Favors down low and get a wing in Hood to score off the bench.
Maybe Burks, Neto, Favors, Utah’s 2019 1st round pick and their 2018 2nd round pick for Kevin Love and the Cavs 2020 1st round pick? But then Cleveland still has to find someone to take on TT and Channing Frye, and get help on the wing (LeBron would play the 4 in that situation, obviously)
That doesn’t make the Cavs better in the near future and doesn’t get them past the Warriors which is really the idea.
You’d have to still make a couple of other deals, and sign a couple of FAs to the MLE/minimum deals, so ya, its not a direct avenue to get better. If you can’t pull off the other stuff, you’re worse
Hayward isn’t going anywhere. He’s not worth a max deal IMO but I don’t think Utat has a choice!
Did you see the Bums getting Mac dollars last year? Hayward is very much worth max money!
I do not believe Ainge will acquire both Hayward and George as they are too similar and C’s need to strengthen rim protection and rebounding. Unless the Pacers agree to a discounted deal with C’s I think Ainge will wait until he can talk with Hayward on July 1 to assess whether he will take less money in Boston. IF Hayward signs then I look for Ainge to focus on the other needs with some of his trade capital rather than adding George.
Well said
Pacers likely already missed on the best deal they could have gotten. Celtics can assemble the best deal but do they really want to steer their momentum of their team with a 1 season rental that won’t push them over the top?
Clarkson and a scrub is all you are going to get from the Lakers.
I’d still do that Tyler Johnson, Rodney McGruder, Wayne Ellington, Josh McRoberts for Paul George deal. No 14th pick included, but that’s just b/c we saw what Butler went for, and also, I doubt Indiana wants another young big. They’d be looking for guards/wing help, which this trade would do for 1 year of PG