Marc Spears: John Wall wants to recruit Paul George to the Wizards

According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Washington Wizards star John Wall is working to convince Paul George to demand a trade to the nation’s capital.

John Wall has set his sights on luring Paul George to Washington D.C. this summer, according to The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears. He would have to do so by convincing George to demand a trade to the Wizards, a feat that, currently, seems highly implausible.

Wall spoke with Spears before the NBA awards in New York City on Monday night. “I am talking to some guys — Paul,” Wall said. “I know his ultimate goal of where he wants to be. I’m trying to see if we can make something happen,”

Wall isn’t the only one trying to win George’s affection. Since George made it known that he wouldn’t be re-signing with the Pacers, the Celtics, Cavaliers, Rockets, Timberwolves, Trailblazers and now Wizards have all expressed interest, and I’m probably still missing a team or two. Wall explains his intentions further below:

"Look at our team. We are one piece away. We have the point guard, we have the shooting guard, we have the center, we have the power forward. Our 3-man, [Otto Porter Jr.], did great for us. You can’t take nothing away from what he did. But, [George] is a guy that can guard LeBron and go back at LeBron. It’s a piece that you’re going to need to win. If you don’t have a guy who can do that, you don’t have a chance. …You got to add another star. You got to add another piece. You got to have three guys. And that’s what it’s looking like.”"

There are several problems with this scenario. For starters, it’s not really up to Paul George. I guess he could sort of control his fate by making it clear that if he’s not traded to the Wizards, he will absolutely not re-sign and be a crappy teammate. That doesn’t seem like a good career move for him, though.

Another thing, the Wizards don’t exactly have a murderer’s row of young assets.

Porter and Oubre are both good players, and three first-round picks would be pretty cool, but there’s no way Washington gives up that much for a player that could leave in a year. Even in a situation where George and the Wiz come to a under the table agreement, that team would be really freaking good. Those picks would likely be in the late 20s.

Next: Paul George to the Cavs, Kevin Love to the Nuggets?

More likely than anything is that Wall is trying to inspire hope for his fanbase and make it clear that he’s playing to win. If Paul George ends up in a Wizards uniform next season, I will be very, VERY surprised.