NBA Trade Rumors: Pacers asking price for George considered ‘unrealistic’

The Indiana Pacers will let you have Paul George. You just need to meet their extremely high demands.

The Boston Celtics are still engaged in trade talks for Paul George, but the latest report has the Indiana Pacers asking price being pretty steep. According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, the Pacers are looking for two draft picks and starting players from the Celtics. This is “unrealistic” according to the source.

After seeing what the Los Angeles Clippers got for Chris Paul, Kevin Pritchard has every right to want the farm. The Clippers were able to get four rotation players and a first round pick. That was without a multiple-team bidding war. The Pacers would be foolish to not want a similar return for their All-Star.

What we have here is a classic game of chicken. Executives know that the Pacers have to deal George this summer. He’s already told them he’s leaving next year and his value won’t be as high at the trade deadline. Trading him now gives teams a full year to convince George to change his mind about going to the Los Angeles Lakers. However, the Pacers know they have the biggest fish on the market and that if a team wants him bad enough, they’ll eventually meet the price.

In the NBA today, you can’t win without multiple All-Stars. George is an All-Star to be had. General managers just have to pay a premium price that comes with acquiring any All-Star.

Someone will eventually cave. Either Pritchard lowers his demand to something more realistic in the eyes of other executives. Or those executives, feeling the pressure of other teams making moves to compete, part with long-term assets in order to stay competitive.

Next: Celtics Looking To Land Hayward and George

Paul George will be traded. It’s just a matter of who swerves first.