The Los Angeles Lakers are concerned that Paul George, who made it very clear last summer that he wanted to be a Laker, may not join them, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst:
There’s a race to secure Leonard before James is faced with deciding whether to become a free agent on Friday, especially with concern that Oklahoma City’s Paul George is no longer assured of signing with the Lakers, league sources said.
ESPN also reported that the Lakers are “feeling pressure” to acquire discontented San Antonio Spurs star Kawhi Leonard. Part of that pressure is coming from their dubiousness about George’s decision.
The Lakers’ end goal is to land LeBron James in free agency, and they feel that landing a star like George or Leonard (or both) is the best way to entice James into coming to L.A. If they aren’t confident they can land George, the Lakers will go hard after Leonard. Leonard is a top-five NBA player who has many suitors, however. He won’t come cheap for the Lakers. They would likely have to give up a combination of young players and draft picks to acquire him.
