Recent rumors are out that the Indiana Pacers could trade Paul George next season and three NBA clubs are his potential destinations, namely the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston Celtics, and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pacers are rumored to be in a revolution right now as team president Larry Bird reportedly wanted to change the team's mindset and style of play starting in the upcoming season. The former NBA MVP, Coach of the Year, and Executive of the Year made his first move by firing head coach Frank Vogel last May and promoting then assistant Nate McMillan to replace Vogel.
Rumors abound that the changes will not end there as Bird could also decide to tweak the Indiana's current roster and bring in a lot of youth.
To make all that possible, though, no less than the team's three-time NBA All-Star George had become the subject of a lot of trade rumors as he remains to be the biggest trade piece the Pacers have at this moment.
Metro indicated that "in order to rebuild" Indiana will "need two things: draft picks and youth". The report then said that the Boston Celtics could provide them draft picks while the Lakers can offer them young players with a lot of upside.
One factor that could lead to a deal with Boston is Bird's well-known closeness to Celtics president Danny Ainge, who was his teammate during their championship days in the 80's.
Meanwhile, George is also known to be a follower of retired Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and getting traded to his idol's team will definitely be not a problem for the Palmdale, California native.
The Lakers can also offer this year's second overall pick Brandon Ingram or last season's no. 2 selection D'Angelo Russell, or both, in exchange for George, who is a proven All-Star that can jumpstart LA back into being a relevant team in the West.
Sportsblog reported that a third team could also pursue George in a trade and that team is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Head coach Billy Donovan is desperately in need of a small forward that could fill-in the void that Kevin Durant left when he decided to jump ship to the Golden State Warriors this summer. George would be the perfect replacement for Durant if only the team has enough assets to trade for him before February's deadline.