The worst-kept secret around the NBA is that Paul George is interested in playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. There have been multiple reports saying that the Lakers are one of only two teams -- along with his current Indiana Pacers -- that he has aspirations to play for once he hits free agency in 2018, and he supposedly has told ex-Pacers teammates of his desire to play for his hometown team.
Before George could possibly sign with the Lakers next summer, there are a number of things that still have to play out. For one, the All-NBA teams are yet to be announced for this season (that comes Thursday). Why does that matter? Well, if George makes one of the teams, the Pacers could offer him $70M more than any other team in free agency, which, according to my calculations is a lot of money.
Then there's the draft lottery, the actual draft, and free agency, all of which could play into whether some team decides to pursue a trade for George this summer.
Until then, however, all we have is speculation. Well, that and George awkwardly dancing around the rumors during his recent appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
The talk show host immediately brought up the rumors about George wanting to play for the Lakers, and also played an old clip from Magic Johnson's appearance on Kimmel's show, in which he made it as clear as he could -- without actually saying "I want Paul George to play for the Lakers" -- that he wants Paul George to play for the Lakers.
The topic clearly made George uncomfortable, as he shifted around in his seat, and tried to avoid saying anything that could be misconstrued.
George did reveal one thing related to the Lakers, however. In the offseason, he plans on working out with Kobe Bryant for the first time, and hopes to "pick his brain."
Hey, what better way to prepare for joining the Lakers than working out with the Mamba himself? Few people besides Bryant can give you better insight about what it takes to be the face of that historic franchise. I mean, you know, just hypothetically, of course.
