Pro: Get Something For Him While You Can…
The Pacers are not a championship-caliber team. In fact, they might not even be a playoff-caliber team if they don’t take advantage of an easier remaining schedule compared to the ninth place Miami Heat. But even if they make the playoffs, and even if PG-13 has the series of his life against the Cavaliers or Celtics, the Pacers are probably going home in the first round.
Back in February, George made his stipulation for sticking with Indiana for the long haul quite simple: Give me the opportunity to contend for a championship and I’ll re-sign.
It’s a pretty straight forward mandate, but one that’s much harder to execute with a few years left on the contracts of deadweight like Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson and even Thaddeus Young. Unless Larry Bird had the summer of his GM life and Myles Turner makes the leap in Year 3, the Pacers still won’t be a championship-caliber team in 2017-18.
That’s a bit of a problem with George’s 2018 free agency looming and the threat of the Los Angeles Lakers looming larger than life:
I repeat: Paul George - barring a title chance in Indy - is hell-bent on heading for Laker Land. This message has been sent throughout NBA.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) February 23, 2017
PG-13 won’t be contending for titles with the Lakers anytime soon thanks to their young roster that’s full of question marks, but adding a star to that team brings back some of the luster for free agents. In any case, it’s a place where George feels comfortable and the Lakers would be more than willing to dole out huge chunks of money to land a certified star.
In that scenario, the Pacers could very well lose him for nothing. Barring a 2017 offseason in which Bird can find a better point guard in free agency (re-signing Teague is not the answer there), get rid of Ellis’ and Jefferson’s contracts and land another star on the market, Indiana is not in a great position to convince George that the franchise is heading on the path back to contention.
With the team’s star clearly frustrated and the Pacers on the precipice of missing the postseason altogether, draft day 2017 might represent the best chance Larry Bird has to get something in return for his superstar before potentially losing him for nothing him next summer.