Rumor: Pacers are not interested in trading Paul George
On a Tuesday edition of the Lowe Post podcast, Zach Lowe and his guests all revealed that they don’t believe the Indiana Pacers are interested in trading Paul George.
Paul George might have more time in Indiana than we thought.
On Tuesday, ESPN senior writer Zach Lowe had fellow senior writers Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne on his podcast, The Lowe Post, to discuss the NBA Finals. Toward the end of the podcast, the topic of Paul George came up.
Windhorst was addressing the quasi-rumor that the Cavs would attempt to trade Kevin Love for Paul George this summer when he said that he wasn’t under the impression that the Pacers were interested in moving George. Lowe responded in agreement:
"I heard the same thing this week, from someone who would know, and it sort of surprised me because I think we all assumed when Larry stepped down and Pritch stepped in and the writing is on the wall for what’s going to happen there, and the last thing I heard is that they’re going to try and regroup and get a couple better players to put around him and make a run at keeping him."
To complete the trio, Shelburne remarked that she had heard similar things.
These rumors may come as a shock to some Pacers fans. Many thought that George was as good as gone after he wasn’t named to an All-NBA team last month, eliminating his eligibility for the Designated Veteran Player Extension.
To be fair, a draft night trade involving George has seemed less and less likely by the day as well, and perhaps the tepidness of George’s trade market has helped to influence this new ideology.
Pacers fans who are confused by how Kevin Pritchard plans to “get a couple better players” are justified, at least partially. The Pacers have an awkward amount of cap room, and depending on what happens with Jeff Teague‘s free agency, they could have holes at multiple positions.
Indiana could potentially trade their first-round pick in this upcoming draft to try and get another veteran contributor, but there is a fairly low ceiling on what a team can get with the 18th pick.
Next: Should the Pacers grab Rabb?
Nothing has been ruled out of course. Paul George could still be traded in two weeks or he could retire a Pacer. Whatever happens, we’ll be there to let you know.