The Cleveland Cavaliers appear to be morphing into a Superteam with two NBA superstars reportedly set to join the 2017 NBA Finals runner up. If rumors are true LeBron James will soon count Paul George and Carmelo Anthony as teammates, likely to be paved by a three-way trade involving the Cavs, the Indiana Pacers and the Denver Nuggets.
But first, George playing for the Los Angeles Lakers seems unlikely now as the Lakers Nation suggested in a report that negotiations between the team and the Pacers appeared to have been stalled. "Indiana seems to have balked at their (Lakers) offer," the report said, meaning LA team president Magic Johnson dangled something that was unacceptable to the Pacers.
As expected, when Indiana announced George is on the trading block the club would want nothing short of blockbuster before sending the superstar to his next destination. It looks now that the arrow George is following points to Ohio.
ESPN reported the Cavs, the Pacers and the Nuggets are wiggling their way out of the puzzle that is the Paul George sweepstakes. The end scenario is Cleveland winning the grand prize - that is absorbing George and build up a Superteam with James and George as the headline talents.
But for George to end up with the Cavs, the Pacers want something huge in exchange and ESPN said Indiana is not talking about Kevin Love. So enter the Nuggets to the scene and the main function of the team on the three-way deal is to first send draft picks and specific named players to Indiana's way then they get to land Love.
"The specific players Denver would have sent to Indiana are not immediately known, but veteran forwards Kenneth Faried and Wilson Chandler and guard Emmanuel Mudiay are all known to be available," ESPN said on its report, adding that Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic have been declared by the Nuggets as untouchables.
Likewise, it was suggested in the report that acquiring George has become a must-do mission for the Cavaliers front office purportedly to convince James to abandon the idea of jumping ship next year. Rumors have it King James is considering a uniform switch after Season 2017-18 and he's eyeing a move west to suit up either for the Lakers or the LA Clippers.
And to ensure the Cavaliers Superteam starring James and George will win a string of championships in the years ahead, Cleveland will reportedly go on shopping one or two NBA A-listers and the solid names on the team's list are Anthony and Dwayne Wade. ESPN said the two "are candidates to sign with the Cavaliers in free agency this summer if they can secure buyouts from Chicago and New York."
However, the Cavaliers Superteam with Paul George in it is far from written in stone. As observed by the Lakers Nation, Magic Johnson is well aware of George's desire to come home to LA the soonest so he might just lay on the table a proposal that George and Indiana will find hard to refuse.
