The rumors of Paul George’s exit still swirl, with a possible trade for Kevin Love being tossed about. But is there any chance of that happening?
Could a Paul George trade for Kevin Love happen if PG decides he is done with the Indiana Pacers?
Maybe, but it is more in the realm of Twitter’s front office experts than the realm of reality. However, if the Cleveland Cavaliers start shopping him — an idea the Ringer’s Haley O’Shaughnessy was toying with — then Indiana should consider making a move.
Consider, is the key word here. Simply swapping PG for KL (Yeah, no one calls him that) doesn’t really help out the Pacers, at least in the long-term. It would be swapping a star that has some loyalties to Indiana for one with none, which puts you in a worse position than you are now.
According to Basketball-Reference, Love is under contract until 2019, with a player option that summer. That might keep him in Indiana for a few seasons if the Pacers traded for him, but what value that has beyond a few extra wins is another question.
On top of that, it throws a wrench into the Pacers frontcourt of Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young. The problem wouldn’t so much be moving Thad to the bench as much as the defensive issues it causes for the Pacers. Turner would need to pick up some of Love’s slack on that end, but on the offensive end, the two might spread the floor better than Turner and Young do as a pair. Don’t forget Young’s quiet impact on the Pacers defense.
But trading straight up for Love does little for the Pacers in terms of building a winning team going forward. Love is good enough to pick up wins, but at best you end up with the team the Pacers had this year. They may win, but they aren’t good enough to make the Finals or bad enough to get a decent draft pick.
Unless a trade saw the contracts of Al Jefferson, Monta Ellis, or both heading out of Indiana, then it only hampers the Pacers ability to rebuild sooner rather than later. It isn’t as easy as getting the Cavaliers to agree to absorb their contracts either.
Cleveland is built as a win now team — they don’t have any draft picks this year — so what they could give Indiana to balance out a trade is tough. They have many veterans, but few players Indiana would want if they are rebuilding. There may be a need for a third team to make all the parties happy.
The Cavaliers could be hesitant to overly invest in Paul George thanks to all the “PG to LA” rumors.
Next: Would Paul George on the Cavaliers tip the Finals in Cleveland’s favor?
Right now we don’t fully know what Paul George wants, but there are more and more signs that he’s eyeing the exit. We don’t know what the Cavaliers want to do with Love, but if both are on the outs, then this could be a way to solve both team’s problems, at least in the short term.