Paul George

[TruSkool]

per wiretap george keeps saying the lakers are a great team for him and turnig down kobe would be difficult but also that leaving indiana would be a bad choice. I think once he becomes a free agent, not only will the lakers make a push for him but they will probably land him. Mitch and co are great at making sales pit hes and to be honest, this guy is a great player but i dont think he has the brains to make a real business decision. If the lakers give him a reason to play in LA which they undoubtedly will, i see him being a laker acter free agency. Although he wont be as great a player as kobe, i think hes the next best thing. Hes a superstar in the making, and the lakers should pursue him over melo and possibly before even lebron

[dockingsched]

Restricted free agent. 0% chance Lakers get him. Zero.

[EArl]

Unless he can convince the Pacers not to match him or wait till his contract expires, it isnt happening.

[ALL HAIL]

^Yep, that'e the only way.

[crazyeights]

I'm starting to think some guys really believe Mitch has a magic wand....

[dockingsched]

Unless he can convince the Pacers not to match him or wait till his contract expires, it isnt happening.

"convince the pacers" doesn't really mean anything though. there's no point in bringing that up. meaningless comment.


as far as expecting george to play out 2014-2015 on his qualifying offer so that he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2015....that would require that he make some crazy sacrifices

Sacrifices:

1. Plays 2014-2015 for 4mil qualifying offer instead of a 14mil max contract starting salary.
- This means he is losing 10mil in 2014-2015, keep in mind up to that point he would have made 10mil his entire career.

2. Plays 2014-2015 on a one yr deal and risking a contract of 60-80 mil that he could have already had locked up and set himself up for life.

3. Once that yr is over where he loses 10 mil and risks 60-80 mil, he has to give up a ton of money AGAIN just to sign with the lakers instead of the much higher raises and more yrs that the pacers could offer.

[EArl]

Unless he can convince the Pacers not to match him or wait till his contract expires, it isnt happening.

"convince the pacers" doesn't really mean anything though. there's no point in bringing that up. meaningless comment.


as far as expecting george to play out 2014-2015 on his qualifying offer so that he can become an unrestricted free agent in 2015....that would require that he make some crazy sacrifices

Sacrifices:

1. Plays 2014-2015 for 4mil qualifying offer instead of a 14mil max contract starting salary.
- This means he is losing 10mil in 2014-2015, keep in mind up to that point he would have made 10mil his entire career.

2. Plays 2014-2015 on a one yr deal and risking a contract of 60-80 mil that he could have already had locked up and set himself up for life.

3. Once that yr is over where he loses 10 mil and risks 60-80 mil, he has to give up a ton of money AGAIN just to sign with the lakers instead of the much higher raises and more yrs that the pacers could offer.

I was being sarcastic.

With the recent turn of events anything is possible with paul George playing out his contract.
I'm not counting on it, but you never know is what i'm saying.
Also if we are under the cap we can get a sign and trade.

[gotokyo]

What's Indiana's cap situation like next year? Any chance that PG at a full max could be too steep for Indiana?

[Imadogg]

What's Indiana's cap situation like next year? Any chance that PG at a full max could be too steep for Indiana?

no

[One Love]

They will match any and all offers...

[chefy]

Restricted free agent. 0% chance Lakers get him. Zero.

Just sticky this already.

[daschysta]

aul George is eligible for an extension with the Indiana Pacers through Oct. 31.

The Pacers plan to make George a "major" offer.

George, a native of the Los Angeles area, could be a target of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2014 if he becomes a restricted free agent.

"Everywhere I go [in L.A.] they say, 'We want you here. Don't sign with the Pacers,' " George said. "I hear that constantly. It's getting a little repetitive … but I'm getting used to it.

"I understand it. I can't really be mad about it. It's a great feeling when people in the stands really want you."

George became an All-Star last season.

"I'm happy to be in Indiana," George said. "I'm happy to be where I am. If I was going to leave Indiana and come to the Lakers, it just wouldn't be a smart move for me. We got a great thing going right now."

A source told ESPN's Marc Stein that a max extension is a "foregone conclusion."

[Kilroy]

Torn on this one... Don't think we have a shot at him and not sure that's a bad thing... So I'm tempted to lock this up...

But he sure seems to have the Lakers in his mouth a lot lately... So maybe there should be a thread open for the discussion.

[dockingsched]

Torn on this one... Don't think we have a shot at him and not sure that's a bad thing... So I'm tempted to lock this up...

But he sure seems to have the Lakers in his mouth a lot lately... So maybe there should be a thread open for the discussion.

only reason he comments on the lakers is cause he's constantly getting asked about it. not like he's randomly going around bringing them up.

[Slava]

I think he's just making sure he secures that max deal with the pacers and his agent is indirectly telling them if you don't offer me one directly, you'll eventually have to match it.

[Kilroy]

Yeah, I kind of find it hard to believe that he's just randomly getting asked about the Lakers this much... There are a few other teams with cap space to offer him the max contract, why not ask about them too?

But I also don't think there's a whole lot of interest from his camp in actually coming to the Lakers.

I'm going to lock this one... Let's talk about Paul George in the around the NBA or off season plans threads. It's way early and we don't really need a thread for every potential free agent target a year from now.