NBA Trade News: How Paul George can land with the Los Angeles Lakers next season

LeBron James and the Indiana Pacers swept Paul George and the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs. With George’s team getting destroyed this postseason, the attention now moves to the Pacers forward’s possible impending free agency after next season.

George is still under contract with the Pacers for the 2017-2018 NBA Season but there were already speculation of possible trades last February. The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics were two of the teams mentioned in trade speculation near the last NBA trade deadline.

Recently, “PG13” was asked about his upcoming free agency but did not want to comment on being a free agent after next season. He is due to get a big contract from the Pacers if he chooses to re-sign with the team next year.

George could be under contract with the Pacers for the next two seasons but he is not expected to pick up the option for the 2018-2019 season as he wants his big payday soon.

“I ain’t even at that point, yet,” George stated via The Vertical after the Pacers lost in four games to James’ Cavaliers. “End of the day, it falls on me. I can always do things better.”

The best-of-seven series featured close games but the Cavs outplayed the Pacers in all of the fourth quarters in the series. In the postgame interview, George also showed frustration in not getting by James in the postseason.

“It’s real frustrating to continue losing to the same team, or the same person. It’s what I work hard for in the summer, to try to help lead a team of my own and it’s ultimately who I’m always going to see and face. But again, came up short. Didn’t do enough,” George added. “If we want to win, that’s the team that we have to work towards stacking up against. If we want to be serious, that’s the team we’ve got to look at and figure out how can we match up against them.”

The Lakers, led by new general manager Magic Johnson, is taking advantage of George’s frustration with his ballclub. The former NBA player was not hesitant in recruiting George to Los Angeles already in a recent comment.

“I just can’t say, ‘Hey I want you to come to the Lakers,’ even though I’m going to be winking like. You know what that means, right?” Johnson told The Washington Post.

While Johnson is not directly recruiting George, the Pacers can choose to leave him off their roster early by trading him to the Lakers next season. George will have an expiring contract if he leaves by opting out after the 2017-2018 season.

The Lakers need a superstar to turn their franchise around and they have young guys that can help the Pacers rebuild for the future.