The Indiana Pacers found out Sunday that star Paul George has no intention to resign with the team after his contract expires in 2018, and now Indiana plans to trade George.
According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, it could be as soon as Thursday’s NBA draft.
Sense from teams talking to IND is that Pacers intend to move fast on a PG deal.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 19, 2017
Lowe notes in a follow-up tweet that the situation is always fluid, but it’s still a dramatic turn of events. George’s agent informed the Pacers, who were expecting to try and make significant roster upgrades to become one of the East’s top teams again.
Just four seasons ago, the Pacers held the best record in the East and made it to the conference finals.
The Pacers will now engage in trade discussions with a number of teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers. ESPN reported Monday that the Cavaliers would be open to trading for George despite no assurances he would sign an extension past the 2017 season.
George’s preference is to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, Yahoo Sports reported.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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