The Los Angeles Lakers are in a very good position to improve their team this summer.
The Lakers struck gold at Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery, as they won the No. 2 overall pick in June’s draft.
Considering the pick is such a strong asset, there’s always the possibility Los Angeles could ship away the selection for a proven player. But according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, a trade is unlikely to happen, especially one involving Paul George.
George has been rumored to be on the trading block for quite some time, and the star forward reportedly has interest in joining the Lakers. The Los Angeles native still has one year left on his contract with the Indiana Pacers, though, and Wojnarowski reports the Lakers are willing to wait it out.
“The Lakers are pretty confident and have a great deal of belief that they’re in position to get Paul George in 2018 whether he stays in Indiana or is traded elsewhere,” Wojnarowski said.
A trade for George obviously would require Los Angeles to relinquish a helping of its assets, which Wojnarowski believes would be counter-productive to the long-term plan.
“They (the Lakers) don’t have to give assets up to go and try to trade for him,” he said. “In fact, I think they’ve been encouraged to do just the opposite. If Paul George is gonna go there he wants them to have assets, he wants them to be as good of a team as they can when he walks in.”
We’ll have to wait and see what Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson has up his sleeve.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports Images
