Paul George, no Deng, the 5 and 10 for #2 and whatever fillers? Yah, I would have said that would have been a deal worth giving up the #2 for. However, if Lonzo is Jason Kidd 2.0, than that trade doesn't look as good as keeping #2, getting George in a year and dealing with Deng. Lakers figured out a way to get rid of Dlo(someone they wanted gone) and Mosgov(someone they needed to be gone) pretty easily.
There is no pride when someone hands you 18 mil per for being done. He will take his money and go about his day.
yeah, it's a risky game, but completely withdrawing could definitely send some signals. and would be in line with the russell move, which only makes sense if you KNOW you've got something coming. on the heels of the paul trade--where morey basically came out and said a couple weeks ago that he had big things up his sleeve and harden was telling people paul was incoming for two weeks prior--i would imagine gms are bit cautious. still, though, i think pritchard will take a lesser package elsewhere just to spite us. which sucks.
We win either way. We get George in a year for nothing. Or we get rid of having to overpay for Randle and get rid of Clarkson's contract. Pritchard was crying like a b**** for a reason. He knows he is in a no win situation. Here's the thing though. If Pritchard treats George like crap, then other agents and free agents will think twice about ever going to Indy. So, make sure you know what you are doing Pritchard. You are in purgatory right now.
But this article is almost everything you hoped for @abeer3 , no? It's an indication of just how cautious teams are. Given Tania's recent piece, I think the Lakers have it directly from Paul and his agent right now that they're still working on getting someone else out there in LA next year. Short of Paul George himself wearing a Laker uniform and flipping off the media in Indiana, we're still doing everything we can to make Paul George's path easier... The only thing that'd make it 100% is clearing Clarkson/Randle/Deng off the books, but right now there's no rush. I liked reading that the Lakers would like a last ditch effort. I think Pelinka is daring other teams to offer up their lot. He's daring Pritchard to find a better offer. Then in the end, he still has the ability to swoop in and beat offers too. In the worst of case scenarios where Boston gets Hayward and George tells the Lakers he's willing to sign an extension in Boston for some reason, the Lakers can throw in Ingram and change the landscape. I can understand other teams' hesitation. Another interesting thing Steve Kyler said was: why do we all assume George and Hayward are attached at the hip? They play the same position basically. Maybe they want to play together, but maybe they don't and maybe if they're both in the same spot in Boston AND there's other wings it drives both of their values down and their minutes down? Decent point.
Well, aside from George being traded to us, that news is probably the best we are going to get at this point.
As great as this sounds, I have to look at sportingnews and think to myself how credible do I think their sources are or are they just throwing information at the wall that appeals to a certain fansbase. I this point of the PG saga I think my brain is just tired of being fed so much PG content from so many angles when most of it is probably just leverage for a certain team. Tough to know what's legit this day unless its coming from Woj or Stein.
best news is george being traded to the lakers. short of that, i won't be comfortable. i don't want anyone getting a chance to change his mind about coming here. but i was annoyed with the slant in lowe's article more than anything. if anything, his desperation to throw shade at the lakers makes me think he's scared.
In a way I think this is great news and a former Laker unintentionally helping us. If he can get Hayward instead of BOS getting him it helps our chances of PG not landing in BOS with Hayward already their as the main selling point. So now we have Utah (of course) and the Heat who are sort of assisting us in making sure PG doesn't land with the C Bags
I stopped listening to Lowe a long time ago. The few times he has something interesting to say, other national writers will pick it up. He's pompous, biased, and not as great as his reputation makes him out to be.
i'm actually not sure if hayward going to boston hurts or helps us. i know there's word that he and george want to play together, but i'm guessing that if boston whiffs on hayward, they'll throw a real asset at indy for george. they can't tread water this summer and expect different results next year.
I think it's a tight rope they're walking. What I'm reading now is part of selling Hayward is "look we can go get Paul George too". But if they do that, they have to gut their team and George is still a rental... This is all much more precarious I believe than the national media would have you believe. I agree they have to make a move, but the move was getting Butler and for some reason they blinked on that. If they weren't willing to go in on Butler, why would they be willing to bet on George? I don't see it.
Jaylen Brown and swapping picks up to 3 instead of 8 would have been a MUCH better return for the Bulls. If you're the Bulls, how do you not put in the call? And if you're the C Bags, how do you not do that deal. I have a feeling that Hayward is the key. Ainge probably thinks Hayward + George/Butler gets him there. Just George or Butler doesn't. Get Hayward, the Celts go all in. Chicago didn't want to wait until free agency to trade Butler.
Do you really go ALL in when you know he's not signing an extension? I might go in enough to just barely beat the Lakers' offer, but I'm not going to pay a big ransom either. The guy could walk at the end of the year. I'm not giving up those high lottery picks without assurances he's signing long-term.
