Poll: Paul George's Next Team?

[Green-18]

Someone else mentioned that it would be cool to see him return to the Pacers.  They have the cap room to make it work.

As an NBA fan I would love to see George return to Indy and commit to "giving the game what it needs".  He can no longer be the best player on a deep playoff team.  A renewed commitment to defense and team basketball would do wonders for his career.  Unfortunately I'm not sure he has the self awareness to make something like this work. 

You're talking about George as if he were 35 years old.

Not at all.  The "give the game what it needs" quote is taken directly from Paul Pierce.  Pierce started doing this as soon as we formed our big three.  It's about a new mental approach for a player who no longer has quite the same athleticism to be the clear cut best player on a deep playoff team.  There's too much young talent around the league to place this expectation on George.   

Is it unfair to argue that his upside at this point is slightly below the two peak seasons in Indiana where the Pacers made the Conference Finals?  During this time he was easily a top 10 player in the league.  If he wants to win then he needs to adapt to no longer being that player anymore.

If I treated him like he was 35 then I would argue that the ship has already sailed. 

[Big333223]

I would love to see OKC and NO work out a sign and trade for George and Cousins. I don't see it happening but adding Paul George to this NO team that ripped through Portland in round one would be cool. It would give Anthony Davis a real chance and contention, which would be great to see.

NOLA would be an excellent fit for PG.  On the other side the combination of Cousins, Melo, and Westbrook would be endless drama.  I'm almost rooting for it to happen lol.

Can't see Cousins agreeing to a sign and trade that sends him to OKC.  Can't see OKC wanting an injured Cousins at all.

You are right.  It's an absolute pipe dream.  Cousins was already damaged goods before the injury.  No smart franchise will offer him anything close to a max contract.

Totally a pipe dream...

But what about this? George decides that he wants to go to NO and even though OKC doesn't want to mess with Cousins, they're capped out and have no other avenue to bring in a good player let alone and all star so they decide to gamble on Cousins. Meanwhile, NO decides they don't want to commit money to Cousins after the way they've played without him so Cousins test free agency only to find that no one wants to pay much for an injured malcontent so Cousins agrees to OKC, who (because of their situation) is willing to give more than anyone else. 

[Fafnir]

I think he goes to LA.

[Phantom255x]

Yeah, I ultimately predict George goes to the Lakers.

But I just brought up teams like Washington, New Orleans and Philadelphia as other intriguing possibilities (some via S&T).

[BitterJim]

Yeah, I ultimately predict George goes to the Lakers.

But I just brought up teams like Washington, New Orleans and Philadelphia as other intriguing possibilities (some via S&T).

PG on the Pelicans would be crazy given that the wing is by far their weakest position. I don't know what they have to S&T with, though (and S&Ts for big salary players are hard enough as is), so it really seems like a pipe dream

[coco]

1st choice LAL
2nd choice Philly

...he is done with OKC I am sure.  Westbrook is runnig out of friends.

[SparzWizard]

He already packed his bags, cleaned out his house, and a vehicle was waiting for him outside Vivint Smart arena ready to drive to Los Angeles.

Westbrook probably doesn't want Melo either.

[Phantom255x]

https://www.slamonline.com/nba/paul-george-gone-after-season-thunder/

Russillo: “Today is the first time I’ve heard from anybody that I trust that George is gone.”

To L.A.?

Russillo: “I don’t know where. It’s a ‘He’s gone’ deal.”

I heard (ESPN reporter) Royce Young say George thinks he’s leaning toward staying. George made it seem in the press conference after Game 6 that he genuinely was torn and maybe even wanted to stay…

Russillo: “I’m skeptical of sharing it […] because all of us watching (the press conference) were like, ‘Why would you even come back to this thing?’

“And I was like, Where is he going then? And (the source) was like, ‘All we know is that he’s gone.’ […]

“I know what Royce Young said, and I saw that coverage of it. Royce is fantastic and he would know better than I because he’s there.

“But Paul George also is somebody who knows what to say. But I wouldn’t trust anything he says.”

It's a circulating report although the quotes really just sound like pure speculation from Russillo. That said, I get the feeling George has already made up his mind and will sign with LAL once midnight hits and FA's can sign.

[celticsclay]

I've never even heard Paul George mention Philly.

[Phantom255x]

I've never even heard Paul George mention Philly.

I never heard Kyrie mention Boston at all either

[cman88]

I really see no reason he would stay with OKC. they just got decimated by a young Utah team with a rookie as probably their best player.

[celticsclay]

I've never even heard Paul George mention Philly.

I never heard Kyrie mention Boston at all either

That is not true, he explicitly said we were one of 4 teams he would go to, and had his people leak how much he admired coach stevens. Are you just joking?

[gouki88]

Hope: New Orleans. That would be super fun

Realist: think he heads to LA sadly

[CelticsElite]

I've never even heard Paul George mention Philly.

I never heard Kyrie mention Boston at all either

That is not true, he explicitly said we were one of 4 teams he would go to, and had his people leak how much he admired coach stevens. Are you just joking?

kyrie never mentioned the Celtics as one of the teams he wanted to play for. The only connection to the Celtics was that he “wanted to play with players like Hayward” and a “coach like Stevens” he never actually said he wanted the Celtics

[Phantom255x]

I've never even heard Paul George mention Philly.

I never heard Kyrie mention Boston at all either

That is not true, he explicitly said we were one of 4 teams he would go to, and had his people leak how much he admired coach stevens. Are you just joking?

kyrie never mentioned the Celtics as one of the teams he wanted to play for. The only connection to the Celtics was that he “wanted to play with players like Hayward” and a “coach like Stevens” he never actually said he wanted the Celtics

This^

Also, we never even found out about Kyrie considering Boston until Griffin went on "The Jump" and said Kyrie had Boston on his list. That was not until early August (about two weeks AFTER we even heard of Kyrie wanting out).