Paul George Trade Rumors: Cavs, Clippers, Rockets, Lakers, Wizards Among Suitors

We knew the list of Paul George suitors would be long. Now we have a handful of teams that have reportedly had tangible discussions with the Indiana Pacers ahead of Thursday's NBA draft.

ESPN's Marc Stein reported the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers have had talks about adding the All-Star swingman.

It's unclear how far along talks are with any of the franchises, but the list should come as no surprise. Each of the five teams has reportedly had interest in adding George, who looks increasingly likely to move sooner rather than later.

Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reported George has informed the Pacers he plans on leaving the franchise next summer in free agency and prefers to play for the Lakers. General manager Kevin Pritchard has kicked talks into high gear since receiving word from George's representation, engaging with teams all over the league.

Given the depth of this draft, it would behoove Pritchard to move by Thursday if he's going to do so. This is seen as a youth-laden, deep class with a handful of potential All-Stars already in the making and a bevy of future rotation players. One draft pick isn't going to be enough to pry away George, but the Pacers are in a position to at least ask for one additional young player along with a first-round pick.

The Lakers remain the most realistic scenario, given they've built a nice foundation of young players and have two first-round picks Thursday. They are almost certainly not going to relinquish the No. 2 pick, which they're expected to use to select UCLA's Lonzo Ball. But if they send someone like D'Angelo Russell and the No. 28 pick, that's a pretty good haul given how little leverage Indiana has in this situation.

Trading Russell—the 2015 No. 2 overall pick—is still a steep price to pay for the Lakers, yet it's one they may have to. The Cavaliers, Wizards and Rockets in particular have strong enough cores they could convince George to sign a long-term contract should he be traded there.