Paul George has informed the Indiana Pacers that he plans to leave the team and test the free agent market next year, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
With the NBA offseason just getting underway, George's agent Aaron Mintz reached out to the Pacers' new president of basketball operations, Kevin Pritchard, to let him know where his client stands on his future with the organization. Even though PG-13 plans to play out the entire 2017-18 campaign, he wanted to give Pritchard enough time to map out the direction of the franchise going forward with their lone superstar seemingly one foot out of the door.
While George has reportedly made it clear in the past that the Los Angeles Lakers are his first choice, the Pacers have also reached out to several teams, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, to gauge their interest in landing the Palmdale, California native. For every team except for the Lakers, acquiring George comes with the expectation that he could just be a "one-year rental."
Since George didn't make an All-NBA team this past season, he will not be eligible for the Designated Player Veteran Exception, which would have made him eligible to receive a $207 million contract over five years. Instead, PG-13's extension tops out at $177 million over five years. While the 27-year-old will only be able to get a four-year deal by signing with another NBA team, he could still get an offer in the $130 million range.
With this latest declaration, George has put the ball in the Pacers' court. Now, let's see what they can do with it.
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