Paul George's agent against idea of LeBron James in Lakers uniform
It's no secret that the new Los Angeles Lakers front office, led by Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka, plan to recruit both LeBron James and Paul George in the summer of 2018. And while the potential "super team" could entice both stars to take their talents to Los Angeles, George's agent is reportedly not thrilled with the idea of sharing the spotlight with James.
According to ESPN insider Stephen A Smith, George's agent would prefer a situation in which his client is the focal point in Los Angeles post 2018. "Sure, Paul George would not mind playing with LeBron. But we all expect he (George) will be in L.A. next season. I have been told that his management team wants no part of George being teammates with LeBron once he arrives in Hollywood," Smith said on First Take Monday morning.
George, recently traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder, has said that him moving to L.A. would require "others hopping on" -- hinting at a potential super team. “It’s too early for L.A. It would have to be a situation where the ball gets rolling and guys are hopping on. This guy commits, that guy commits. ‘Oh s---, now there’s a team forming.’ It has to be like that.”
But the same is true for virtually every locale outside of Oakland. “I’m in OKC, so hopefully me and Russ do a good enough job and make it to the conference finals and love the situation, why not recruit someone to come build it with us? I’m open in this whole process," George told Sports Illustrated.
NBA Free Agency 2018: All eyes on the Purple & Gold
This offseason, while the rest of the league has been splurging dollars, the Lakers have been preserving their "sacred cap space" to make a splash in NBA Free Agency 2018. It’s simply why they traded guard D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Brooklyn Nets with the intention to clear cap space for 2018.
Next year, besides James and George, the likes of Russell Westbrook, DeAndre Jordan, DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas and Chris Paul are due to become unrestricted free agents. By keeping their pay roll under check, the Lakers believe they have a shot at acquiring two superstars next July.
Pelinka told the Dan Patrick Show recently that the team plans to develop its exciting young core of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Julius Randle, Kyle Kuzma & Co. while also adding two max-level free agents. “And then, the final plan, Magic and I did a trade that allowed us to have double-max cap room a July from now. July 2018. So with our platform, we’re really hopeful we can add maybe a superstar or two to this young core and have the best of both worlds.”
Paul George, one of the best two-way forwards in the NBA, averaged 23.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his seventh season for the Indiana Pacers before getting traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
