Fansided

5 lottery teams that should be calling the Pacers about Paul George

By Akash Anavarathan

Apr 20, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) runs onto the floor before playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 20, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) runs onto the floor before playing against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game three of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

With Paul George set to hit the market next summer, the Pacers may be forced to trade him, rather than risk losing the All-Star for nothing. With the Draft Lottery finished and the order set, here are five lottery teams that should be calling the Pacers.

Indiana Pacers’ forward Paul George has been the face of the franchise since the departure of Danny Granger. But Indiana can’t seem to get past LeBron’s teams in the playoffs and it looks like they might have maxed out their potential.

Ex-Team President Larry Bird tried to give Paul George a veteran roster to compete with by adding Jeff Teague and Al Jefferson, but those moves didn’t seem to work in the postseason. George has continually voiced his displeasure with the direction of the team and it started to become more obvious down the stretch of the season.

After every game in the first round, George called out a different teammate for their performance (or, lack thereof) and seemed to distance himself from the others in his locker room. President Larry Bird, who many thought George had a good relationship with, stepped down from his role, making the decision to try and leave Indiana a little bit easier.

Small-market teams like Indiana should always try and re-sign their star draft picks, because they likely won’t be able to land big-time free agents. Now that it seems like the Pacers’ superstar might not want to stay in Indy long-term, they have to consider trading him to make sure they get something in return. The Pacers don’t want to be like Oklahoma City, who got caught with their pants down when Kevin Durant bolted out of town for nothing in return.

With the NBA Draft Lottery setting the draft order last night, here are five lottery teams that should call and inquire about trading for Paul George.

5. Dallas Mavericks

Yes, the Mavericks just signed Harrison Barnes to a max-salary contract this past offseason, but when you have the chance to add one of the best two-way players in the game, you can’t pass up that opportunity.

Dallas is stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the NBA, you either have to be elite with landing top free agents to keep building your team, or tank like the Philadelphia 76ers and consistently get top-five picks until you find a superstar. The Mavericks are in neither situation and as a result, they’ll always be straddling around .500.

They’ll never be bad enough where they can land a top-three pick in the NBA Draft, but they’re likely not to attract the premier free agents either. Over the last few offseasons, they’ve added B-list guys like Wesley Matthews, Chandler Parsons or Harrison Barnes.

This may be the Mavericks best chance to try and land a superstar to turn their franchise around. Some might say that Paul George is coming to Indiana-west, but the Mavericks have a better organizational structure and can definitely add better pieces around the superstar. Dallas has the No. 9 pick in the draft.

They have young center Nerlens Noel who can protect the rim and hopefully develop into a star in the NBA. They had breakout point guard, Yogi Ferrell, and obviously have Barnes and Matthews. Dallas isn’t afraid to spend the money to bring talent and they should definitely give Indiana a call about Paul George.

Home/Indiana Pacers