Paul George trade: Three reasons it could come back to haunt LA

Jan 22, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) watches a free throw attempt to action against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pacers 122-110. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 22, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) watches a free throw attempt to action against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Pacers 122-110. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

He’s going to want the offense to run through him all the time

When playing in Indiana, it’s really hard to challenge Paul George in terms of star power on the team. Nobody really even had a strong second spot to him, and that’s how he thrived.

As part of the Pacers, George’s mentality was always putting points on the board before anything else. His career averages prove just that, with 18.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game to show for it.

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It’s not that the Lakers would take issue with having a go-to scorer. However, if the overall goal is to get him so that your core gets better and more competitive as a team, that may not happen.

One example would be when the Golden State Warriors added Kevin Durant to the mix. As good of a player that Klay Thompson is, having Durant around took away touches. Now, it’s safe to say that the Lakers aren’t on the Warriors’ level in terms of winning, but the idea of space and play on the floor is similar.

This could cause a problem with Brandon Ingram in particular. After being put in a position where it’s clear that he’s their corner stone player, it’s hard to say that he’d take that sort of transition easily.

He’s not really built to switch positions to the four, so how the Lakers decide to handle that will be worth the watch.