If Paul George is somehow *wink wink* telling the Lakers he will sign with them in 2018 - emphasis on the winking so as to not get slapped across the face with penalties for tampering - then heck yeah wait for free agency and don't give up assets to Indiana.
Like I said, "fly on the wall to hear those conversations" would be amazing and terrifying with how much Magic would want to get it done and how many Bird would want of our best young players, and both of them no longer just being palsy walsy but competing against each other again.
Pennies on the dollar should we offer for George if he's demanding a trade from Indiana bc he wants to be on the lakeshow
It's tough because that's my line of thinking as well, but the other side of me is saying "Boston's just sitting there with ALL THOSE ASSETS." If he goes to Boston and they're contending for a title this year & next, I seriously doubt he outright signs here that Summer. On the other hand, we do have a good shot to sign him without giving up assets. Also, acquiring him now seriously hurts our odds at keeping this year's pick in a loaded draft. AAAAHHH...I don't know what to do. I'm probably overthinking this.
This is probably smart, but also dangerous. Things can change quick, Indy has a good offseason and they improve and PG stays. We were waiting on Westbrook in this way and he signed an extension. At some point you have to explore getting a star in a trade, because getting one in free agency has failed year after year after year. And really, hasn't it failed us ever since Shaq? We traded for Pau.
Yet another angle to all of this: What if we trade for him now & give up Ingram/Clarkson/Nance and then what we're left with isn't enough to convince him to stay & re-sign after next season? EESH. No way to know the right answer.
IMHO the best scenario is Indy doesn't trade George anywhere before the deadline, the Lakers lose games and keep their pick, Indy flops hard to close the season and then.... George demands a trade to the Lakers after the season is over. This way the Lakers don't have to wait until 2018 free agency to sign George and risk him getting traded elsewhere before then and liking it and staying there (Lakerman JSJ's point) but can trade for George on the cheap. Not saying something crazy like Clarkson, Black and a 2nd round pick but naturally way more leverage to not have to include BI, Zubac, Russell or even that Top 3 pick.
If you can get PG now without giving up the farm, you get him now. I'm done with the 2017 plan, the 2018 plan, we have cap space he will come here for sure along with RW and Anthony Davis. The time to strike is now. I'd rather go into FA meetings with PG on the team. I'm not scared about him leaving because really other than Dwight (Who is a grade A idiot) who has left when a team trades for them?
I agree 100%. No time to wait. The future is full of uncertainty. The time is NOW!!! Go get him Magic
This is my thinking as well. I think a lot of people here aren't taking into account, or have somehow forgotten how hard it is to get a star. We have heard guys every season rumored to be interested in coming to LA, but it hasn't happened once. If you can actually get a star in a trade for only a couple the assets that we have gathered over the last few years, I think you do it and you worry about the rest later. I agree that if we get PG, he probably re-signs, because yes, Dwight was the exception, and even he probably re-signs if Kobe wasn't here.
I'm at least making the call. I want to know how much they want for Paul George. If the answer is: Ingram/Russell/Clarkson or something like that, then I'm out. I'm sorry. I'll have to take my chances going forward with the kids. If the answer is: Ingram/Randle or Russell/Clarkson/Nance Jr. then I'm in. Get me Paul George. I want Paul George badly in a Laker uniform, but we have to be practical as well. Trading for Paul isn't enough, we also need to add at least one other piece to be a competitive playoff team. In order to get that piece, we have cap room but only enough for one player. We need some assets that are capable of being moved for another star as well. Keeping the Top 3 pick would mean the Lakers have a chance to blow away Boston's offer. I don't see anyone on their team that has Randle's upside, let alone Ingram or Russsell. Their best asset is the picks that don't exist yet, our best assets are the players on our team. To me that gives us an edge as long as those kids are talented which ours are. If Indy waits, they can probably get something crazy like Ingram/#3 for George as an expiring deal. I think that's better than what they'll find right now. I'm all in on trying to get Paul George, but the price has to be right. It's killing me to think he could end up a C bag though.
Gota hold onto ingram though....dont make mistake like indy, they couldve had kawahi leonard and Pg13
I was just coming in here to post something similar. The draft isn't a lock, keeping our pick is far from a lock, getting a star in FA 1.5 years from now is definitely not a smart plan (As we've seen for the past 4-5 years now). The hardest part about rebuilding your team is getting that star player. If we can walk away with DAR or Ingram + PG/Randle/Zu, I'll take that all day over what we have right now.
I don't make the deal now. I think it's better for both us and Indy to wait until the offseason to see if we have that pick. I think Indy would ideally like that pick as much or more than our youth, and having that pick allows us to keep some pieces for other trades. The pick plus Randle and Clarkson probably is a good return for Indy. Then we can use Ingram to grab Butler and build around Butler, George, Russell, Zu and Nance.
You shouldn't just hope you can get him later. You have to be aggressive if you feel he can be a cornerstone piece. The Pacers have the talent to make a run in the playoffs. If they get to the second round and have a competitive series, the chances George leaves immediately dwindles.
