ESPN: Paul George Didn’t Want to Play With Kobe Bryant, Picked Pacers over Lakers

An in-depth article released today by ESPN says that Paul George re-signed with the Indiana Pacers rather than trying to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, at least in part, because players don’t want to play with Kobe Bryant.

Specifically, author Henry Abbott wrote the following in his article that asks “Is Kobe Bryant the downfall of the Los Angeles Lakers?”

"While the Lakers were going after Anthony in vain, they quietly pursued Chris Bosh as well, but he preferred the carcass of the Heat. Paul George, Angelino through and through, had once been the team’s safest choice. But sources say one reason the two-way star had re-signed with the Pacers in the fall of 2013 instead was that he was turned off by the thought that Bryant would police his efforts."

Henry Abbott is an excellent journalist. Henry Abbott is a friend of mine. I don’t doubt his sources or that certain players have stayed away from the Lakers because of Kobe Bryant.

But I don’t think including Paul George as one of those players holds water.

Some things we know:

• In September 2013, Paul George signed a five-year extension with the Indiana Pacers for the maximum salary allowable under the collective bargaining agreement. This guaranteed him about $90 million.

• Had Paul George not done that, he would have become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2014.

• Restricted free agents are able to negotiate with any team and even sign an offer sheet to go play for another franchise. But the team the player is already on has the right to match said offer and retain the player’s services for the duration of that contract. This is exactly what happened when Roy Hibbert reached restricted free agency and signed an offer sheet with the Portland Trailblazers, only to have the Pacers match and retain Hibbert.

• Paul George could have decided to not sign an extension and instead become a restricted free agent. Then, he could have not signed an offer sheet with another team and instead accepted a one-year “qualifying offer” deal to play one final season with the Pacers. If he did that, he would have become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2015. No player of any consequence has ever done this except for Greg Monroe this summer. (UPDATE: And Ben Gordon and Vlad Rad if you consider them “of consequence.”(

• There is no realistic way Paul George could have played for the Los Angeles Lakers short of (a) playing on a one-year qualifying deal then going there next summer as an unrestricted free agent, or (b) convincing the Indiana Pacers to trade him there.

• Kobe Bryant is Paul George’s idol and the reason that the Southern California kid picked number 24 for his jersey. He also credited Kobe Bryant and Team USA with helping him grow as a player. There is almost no way I will believe that Paul George wouldn’t have looooveeeed to play alongside Kobe Bryant on the wing.

• Paul George called the Kobe Bryant story “crazy” on Twitter.

Getting all that out of the way, Abbott’s story is a fascinating look at what has happened to a struggling front office in the modern era. It really gives a nice look into the inner workings of what happens when a traditional business model is upended both by the passing of the company’s patriarch and the rapid evolution of the sport.

Front offices are under more pressure than ever to bring in new players, and knowing the stuff this article reveals about the Lakers can help Pacers fans appreciate all the work those in Indiana’s front office have put in ever since Larry Bird announced his three-year plan — way back when Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy were the only rays of hope on the roster.

Then of course there is the Kobe Bryant stuff, which obviously has some truth to it. But while the article is framed as a “Nobody wants to play with Kobe” piece, I think a lot of the subtext also has to do with NBA players becoming a lot smarter as well.

This has to do with understanding the importance of sharing the ball, newer analytics, and the value of efficiency. And that is something that Kobe has struggled to adapt to in many ways. But it is also about players now understanding the business side of the NBA and how the salary cap.

There may be people who simply don’t want to play with Kobe, and the attitude the article says he had while “recruiting” some marquee players does sound problematic. But I believe the franchise’s failure to get star stplayers also has plenty to do with today’s star players being able to look at a team’s salary cap and say, “That isn’t enough talent to win a title, and they have no way to improve.”

In the past, players would take leaps of faith. They would sign on name recognition and history alone. But today’s stars watched Kevin Garnett wallow away in Minnesota, nearly wasting his whole career. They saw LeBron get no help for seven years in Cleveland. They know that even guys like those — top 20 players of all time — nearly had their careers defined by being stuck in a bad situation with a bad front office.

There is a reason, for instance, that David West came to Indiana and passed on Boston.

And most players today can look at the situation in Los Angeles over the past few years and realize it isn’t a great career option. Even if the jersey says “Lakers.”

(And, yes, everyone knows Kobe Bryant is a dick who doesn’t like to give up the ball or the glory. I’m sure that played a role for many players, too. But I don’t think it had anything to do with Paul George re-signing in Indiana.)