NBA trade deadline: Lakers, Celtics feel price tag too high for Paul George

Indiana Pacers has been gauging offers for superstar forward Paul George from Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline (3:00 p.m. ET, 7:00 a.m. Friday AEDT). After back-and-forth negations, neither team is willing to match Indiana's high price tag, per reports.

Since George is a potential unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2018, the Lakers and Celtics are reluctant to give up significant assets since they can pursue the star in 16 months. According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, George would likely remain a Pacer after Thursday. "A league source (whose team inquired about George) said yesterday that George would be massively expensive to obtain in trade, suggesting his team did not have nearly the assets to pursue a Paul George trade.

"The same source said that anything involving him would require almost everything a team had to offer based on the stance the Pacers had this week," Kyler wrote in his report on Thursday morning.

Paul George, a future Laker due to Magic Johnson?

A day earlier, Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical reported that George, a native of Palmdale, California, was leaning towards signing with the Purple & Gold upon becoming a free agent next year. The Lakers, led by new president Magic Johnson, could simply wait until July 2018 instead of giving up high-upside assets and draft picks. "There have been reports that both the Boston Celtics and LA Lakers view the price tag on George as too high, especially considering George could be a free agent in 16 months," Kyler added in his report.

In other NBA trade deadline news, the New York Knicks is determined to do the Ricky Rubio-Derrick Rose swap with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves wouldn't need to add more assets since they are under the salary cap floor. Would the Pacers have a change of heart and pull off a last-minute Paul George trade? Stay tuned for the latest news and updates.