Will The Sliding Lakers Agree To Trade Russell & Ingram For Paul George Now?

Are Los Angeles Lakers eyeing Indiana Pacers' Paul George as part of their plan to rebound in the 2016-17 season? The latest buzz around the NBA is saying so. It is not that the Pacers' small forward has found himself associated with another team. Last week, talks were heard about the man's possible transfer to the Detroit Pistons but the latter shot the speculation down. And now, the buzz around a deal with the Lakers.

George, 26, has made a name in the circuit. He has been picked as NBA All-Star thrice and also represented the U.S. at the Rio Olympics where they picked the gold medal. It's not unlikely that teams will overlook the talent, especially when he is playing for a team which has a 50-50 record (13-14) at the moment. This is George's seventh season with the Pacers.

In September, The Inquisitr's Ernest Shepard said that the Lakers were keen to have George even before the season took off. Rumors even said that the Lakers, along with the Boston Celtics, were ready to part ways with lottery picks in lieu of George. But the Pacers were reportedly not ready to trade the star with who they have a contract till 2018-19.

A report by Yibada in September also revealed about the likely transaction between the Lakers and Pacers over George. The former are eyeing George as a replacement for Kobe Bryant, who recently retired after serving them for two decades, and a package including the likes of D'Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram was also offered to the Pacers for George.

However, things have changed significantly for Luke Walton's men in the last few weeks as the Lakers, despite starting well this season with a young team, lost eight consecutive games. It will be interesting to see whether they would still like to part ways with Russell and Ingram at this point of time. On the other hand, the Pacers could do themselves a favor by grabbing the two for one deal with the Lakers now.