Report: Cavs, Pacers Holding Early Discussions on Potential Paul George Trade

Trade rumors are starting to heat up surrounding Paul George, the Indiana Pacers and potentially the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Sam Amico reported Sunday, the two sides are at least discussing the possibility, but it could just be a case of due diligence.

#Cavs and #Pacers have indeed discussed Paul George, but Indy said to be in very early stages of making calls. Talks just beginning.

— Sam Amico (@AmicoHoops) June 18, 2017

This news came shortly after a report from The Vertical, in which league sources revealed George intends to become a free-agent in the summer of 2018.

George hasn’t requested a trade before he can opt out of his 2018-19 contract, but did have his agent, Aaron Mintz, tell new Indiana president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard that he wanted to be forthright on his plans and spare the franchise any confusion about his intentions, league sources told The Vertical.

George plans to play out the 2017-18 season with Indiana, but wants to give the organization the chance to plan appropriately for its future – which George told the team won’t include him, league sources said.

– The Vertical

The public nature of George’s intentions could make his trade value even lower from Indiana’s standpoint, so teams like the Cavs, Lakers or others will likely have more leverage than they would if he left the door open for a Pacers extension.

Fans, writers and analysts will continue to speculate about what it would take to bring George to Cleveland, but as Amico noted, it’s still very early in the process.

We’ll continue to update this situation as more reports emerge in the coming days/weeks.