We're just one day away from the NBA Draft, and one would guess that means we're in the final hours of Paul George in a Pacers' uniform. Here is what we know as of 2:20 PM this afternoon:
THE LAKERS ARE STILL TRYING
According to David Aldridge late last night, Los Angeles engaged Sacramento in trade talks for their 5th and 10th selections, with plans to attach one of those picks to a deal for Indiana, but the Kings declined. The current Lakers' offer on the table is Julius Randle (or Jordan Clarkson) plus the 27th and 28th picks, and that could be as good as it gets for Kevin Pritchard.
PACERS NOT ABSOLUTELY MOVING PG THIS WEEK
Nate Taylor of the IndyStar is reporting that while the Pacers are optimistic they can move George before tomorrow, Pritchard could listen to offers throughout the summer and even into training camp. That is not ideal, however, as missing out on extra picks in this deep draft would diminish George's net trade return even more. This seems to be more of a ploy by the Pacers to have teams up the ante in the next 24 hours.
WE KNOW WHO THE INTERESTED PARTIES ARE
While there have been connections made to over a half-dozen teams, three have emerged as the Paul George front-runners. The biggest and most obvious being the Lakers, followed by the Cavaliers, who have struggled to get the assets together (read: recruit a third or a fourth team to the table) for a PG or Jimmy Butler push. Also, it seems that Houston is in the mix dangling a few of their young players and Patrick Beverley (who followed the Pacers team Twitter account last night, FWIW).