Lakers Rumors: Paul George Trade Options and Buzz on Potential Draft-Day Moves

The Los Angeles Lakers' rebuild will officially kick into high gear this summer. Magic Johnson has taken over as president of basketball operations, brought in Rob Pelinka as GM after a long career as an agent, and the young core is rounding into shape.

After keeping their top-three protected pick at the lottery, everything seems settled. The Lakers will in all likelihood select UCLA point guard Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick and set up perhaps the most intriguing boom-or-bust scenario for any pick in recent memory.

Ball, mostly through the boisterous mouth of his father, has been billed as the savior of Los Angeles basketball. Bringing him into the fold that already includes Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson should make for a solid young core to build around.

Or, well, to package for one certain disgruntled star in Indiana. Let's take a look at a pair of Lakers trade rumors making their rounds at the moment and assess what's going to happen.

Paul George Wants to Be a Laker

This has been one of basketball's worst-kept secrets for months. Paul George's tenure in Indiana started winding down the moment the Pacers' core of him, George Hill, Roy Hibbert and David West stopped competing for Eastern Conference championships. Every piece of that core besides him and Lance Stephenson (the prodigal son who returned last season) is gone.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported George informed the Pacers of his plan to leave in free agency next summer, giving them a full year to decide how to proceed. George prefers to play for the Lakers in what will amount to a homecoming.

Once this domino fell, rumors instantly began flying. The Lakers have enough picks and young assets to make a trade right now. The Pacers aren't in a position to ask for much more than a package highlighted by maybe Russell, another piece and a pick.

But there's a natural school of thought here that the Lakers can and should wait this whole thing out. The Knicks pigeonholed themselves into mediocrity by refusing to wait for Carmelo Anthony to become a free agent in 2011, jettisoning their young core for a player who was going to sign there anyway. Had the Knicks been patient enough to wait things out, they could have used their young assets to give Anthony a co-star and a real chance at actually competing.

We already know George probably fits better as an elite second banana than franchise face—at least if you're competing for a title. 

If George is truly committed to being a Laker, they can wait this thing out.

Lakers Looking to Trade Back into Lottery

Score this one under the "kind of confusing" category. ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported the Lakers have talked with two teams in the lottery about potentially adding another first-round pick.

The Lakers have No. 28 in addition to No. 2 and would likely look to package that later pick to move up. Shelburne said the team is looking for perimeter shooting and wing defense, which would make Indiana's OG Anunoby and Louisville's Donovan Mitchell decent fits in the late lotto. 

Making matters all the more interesting is what the Lakers would package with No. 28 to move up. If they're 100 percent committed to taking Ball, Jordan Clarkson might make the most sense. The Lakers should spend next season with Russell and Ball as their primary backcourt for as long as possible to see how it meshes.

Russell plays better when he isn't asked to be the primary ball-handler. When I graded him prior to the 2015 draft, I likened him to a left-handed Brandon Roy, someone who can be a great secondary ball-handler but needs the 2 spot to be his primary position.

ESPN's Chad Ford reported the Lakers have dangled Russell for a top-12 pick, which would be a real sell-low even in this class. If you're trading one of these two guards, it's Clarkson 100 times out of 100.