Before Paul George was traded from the Indiana Pacers to the Oklahoma City Thunder last month, there were talks of a deal that could have landed him with the Golden State Warriors, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski revealed Thursday on “The Woj Pod.”
Wojnarowski, who was joined by George on the podcast, claimed the Pacers were seeking Klay Thompson in a deal, but the Warriors nixed that idea and talks dried up.
“There were a lot of trade discussions — I think probably every team in the league checked in with Indiana about you in that window when you were available,” Wojnarowski said to George. “One offer I was told was made was that Indiana offered you to Golden State for Klay Thompson, Golden State said no, and talks didn’t go anywhere.”
“Yeah, I think that would have been a Chris Paul to L.A. situation where they denied that trade,” George said. “Yeah, I was aware of it. I would’ve looked forward to it, of just being in a good situation and a chance to compete for a championship. But it didn’t happen. It’s still fun to team up with a special talent and have a chance to compete against that team.”
According to a Saturday evening report from Peter Vecsey, via Patreon, the Pacers are planning to formally file tampering charges against the Los Angeles Lakers regarding George. When the veteran small forward previously made the Pacers aware of his intention to opt out of his contract with the Eastern Conference franchise, George reportedly told Indiana that his preferred landing spot was the heralded Lakers.
“It’s no secret the Lakers want George,” explains Chris Barnwell of CBS Sports. “His California ties and fascination with Kobe Bryant’s career have given reasonable cause for why he would want to join the Lakers. There have also been multiple rumors linking him to Los Angeles since he informed the Pacers he didn’t plan to return once his contract ended.”
Team officials aren’t allowed to make contact with a player or their representatives until July 1 of the player’s free-agency year. George won’t be a free agent until next summer.
The Lakers could be fined and lose future draft picks if they’re found guilty of tampering. But according to several NBA officials, it would be difficult to prove that the Lakers tampered with George. The Lakers have denied any wrongdoing, according to the officials.
“The Lakers have been cooperative and, at this point, no findings have been made,” the league’s statement said. “We have asked both teams to refrain from commenting while the investigation is ongoing.”
Alison Bogli, the Lakers’ director of media relations, released a statement acknowledging the team’s cooperation.
“As the NBA's statement made clear, we cannot comment about the specifics of any ongoing investigation,” the statement read. “We can confirm, however, that we are cooperating fully with the NBA in the hope of clearing our name as soon as possible.”
The NBA said the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is conducting the investigation. Lawyers from the NBA and the outside counsel the Lakers hired to review the matter each deposed Johnson, owner Jeanie Buss, and general manager Rob Pelinka in May, according to the officials.
The NBA has asked the Lakers to hand over any correspondence their front office has had with PG. As if Magic is going to hand over some tape recording...
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