Clippers Reportedly Targeting Paul George Sign-and-Trade After Pacers Rumors

Paul George might land in Los Angeles by the time the summer is over. It may just not be with the Lakers.

Sean Deveney of Sporting News reported the Clippers have expressed interest in George via potential sign-and-trade. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick are set to become free agents this summer and could be sign-and-trade eligible, depending on the parameters of the deal.

The odds of this happening, of course, are highly unlikely. Adding George at the expense of Griffin or Paul would not make the Clippers any closer to unseating the Golden State Warriors out West. That would make Redick the only feasible sign-and-trade player for George, and there is no fathomable scenario in which that type of deal goes down.

Redick is a fine player but turns 33 this week. He's not at a point in his career where he's willing to play for a rebuilding franchise, and adding Redick does nothing to help the Pacers in a post-George teardown. The Clippers are also borderline barren with young assets and draft picks due to poor decisions made by Doc Rivers as head of basketball operations.

The Clippers are interested in George in the same way most of us are interested in driving a Bentley. It sure sounds nice and would probably be a lot of fun, but we don't have any money, and the spare Taco Bell coupons we have to barter with aren't getting the job done.

The Pacers aren't going to lack for options in trading George, even as a one-year rental. They'll find a contender who is willing to pony up actual assets on the chance they'll be able to convince him signing a five-year deal a year from now is better than risking it all for a still-rebuilding team in Los Angeles.

That team just isn't going to be the Clippers.