Los Angeles Lakers: Five ways to get rid of Luol Deng this summer
By Jason Reed
A Kawhi Leonard trade is the most talked about trade for the Los Angeles Lakers and still does not even compare to the hype around Paul George coming home to the Lakers. The Paul George to the Lakers rumors have been heavy since he was still an Indiana Pacer. With a player option this season, after being bounced in the first round of the playoffs, it may finally be time.
And while the Lakers can offer George a max deal to come home, there is a much smarter way to do business.
With a player option, George has all the same power that DeAndre Jordan has. If he knows he wants to leave the Oklahoma City Thunder, he can approach the team with the same ultimatum.
“Either I can walk away and you guys can get nothing for me or I can opt into my contract and you get something for me.”
He did the same thing with the Indiana Pacers, explaining that he probably was not going to re-sign with the team following this season. For the Pacers, it worked out, as Victor Oladipo actually outplayed George last season.
By doing this, the Lakers would have to give up youth in Josh Hart and some draft picks. However, assuming other stars join LA, those draft picks are going to end up irrelevant anyways.
And by doing this the Lakers are not only adding a max contract caliber player but they are still maintaining the surplus of cap space they already have. If Los Angeles wants both George and LeBron James, this is undoubtedly the way to do it.
Next: Lakers post-Combine big board
Ryen Russillo of ESPN already reported that George is gone from OKC this summer. Perhaps this is the way he goes out.