Paul George to the Lakers Trade Idea Proposed

Does this hypothetical Clippers-Lakers trade make sense?

Oct 20, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) is defended / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The LA Clippers have yet to reach a contract extension agreement with Paul George, which has added fuel to the speculation that the nine-time All-Star will consider other options this summer. While the likeliest scenario continues to be George wearing a Clippers jersey next season, the lack of an extension has opened the door to other possibilities.

In a recent article from Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz, a hypothetical Paul George to the Lakers trade was proposed. The deal would send George and P.J. Tucker to the Lakers in exchange for Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, D'Angelo Russell, Jarred Vanderbilt, 2024 or 2025 first-round pick.

For such a deal to even be legal, several different technicalities would need be sorted out on both sides, beginning with George picking up his player option. All signs point to George declining his player option and seeking a new deal with the Clippers or perhaps another team, so there is a strong chance this hypothetical trade structure would be unable to even take place.

While almost any return is better than losing George for nothing, it seems unlikely that the Clippers send George to a Western Conference rival, and even less likely they would send him to the Lakers. As long as Kawhi Leonard is under contract, the Clippers will be pursuing a championship, which makes sending George to another Western Conference team with similar aspirations about as unlikely of a scenario as there is.

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