6 reasons (LaVar Ball) the Lakers should trade their No. 2 pick for Paul George By: Charles Curtis | May 18, 2017 3:31 pm Follow @bychar...
6 reasons (LaVar Ball) the Lakers should trade their No. 2 pick for Paul George
By: Charles Curtis | May 18, 2017 3:31 pm Follow @bycharlescurtis
No one was happier than LaVar Ball when the Los Angeles Lakers landed the No. 2 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft lottery.
It all but guaranteed his son Lonzo would be available to stay in the city where he’s grown up, and it was a chance for the Lakers to get yet another young piece to help the franchise return to respectability.
But what if that’s not the right move for the Lakers? What if they could trade some of their young talent for a much-needed superstar to help them compete right away? It actually makes some sense. Here are a few reasons why:
1. LaVar Ball is too much of a headache for the Lakers 
Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Magic Johnson denied Lonzo’s dad would be a factor in evaluating the UCLA star, but it’s become clear that LaVar and the Big Baller Brand have become a serious problem. How much of a distraction will Ball be with the press if the Lakers aren’t doing enough for his son if they draft him? Even with Ball, L.A. might not be truly competitive for a year or two. How will LaVar Ball handle that?
The other question here is: Would Ball hold out if another team besides the Lakers drafted him? Let’s save that for another time. Right now, we’re looking at this from the Lakers’ perspective, and that’s not their problem if they end up with George.
2. Paul George is from Los Angeles
That’s pretty much all you need to know about the Palmdale native. And there have been a whole bunch of rumors that he’d love to play in his hometown team.
3. George just lost some incentive to extend his contract with the Indiana Pacers 
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The All-NBA teams were named on Thursday and George wasn’t one of them. What does that mean? From USA TODAY Sports:
Per the rules of the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement, George would have been eligible for the designated player exception — and a five-year contract with Indiana worth roughly $210 million (approximately $70 million more than any other team could offer) — had he been named to one of the three All-NBA teams.
The Pacers just lost a big advantage in negotiating with their superstar. Uh-oh.
4. The Lakers need to motivate George to want to re-sign with L.A.
The strange thing about talking about a George deal is the fact that he can opt out of his contract after 2017-18. So couldn’t the Lakers just wait to sign him in a year and draft Ball or another talent with the No. 2 pick?
Here’s some great reasoning from ESPN.com’s Ramond Shelburne why a Lakers trade now makes sense:
If another team trades for him this summer, he could fall in love with that franchise, and I don’t think the Lakers can take that chance. For example, what if the Celtics make the move and George is the piece that gets them past the Cavs in the Eastern Conference? I don’t think the Lakers can take that chance.
I’ve written why the Celtics should trade their No. 1 pick and some pieces to grab George from Indiana, so getting him before Boston does is important.
5. The Lakers already have a young, developing guard 
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Alright, this is the weakest reason. D’Angelo Russell could theoretically play along with Ball as an off-the-ball guard, or it might take him and the No. 2 in a package to get George. But there are rumors swirling that the Lakers could take Ball and trade Russell.
Does that really make sense? Russell is still a young up-and-coming guard, just two years removed from being the No. 2 overall pick and looking, at times, like he was living up to some of the hype after a disastrous rookie season. Giving up on him so soon or interfering with his development seems like a weird call.
6. The Pacers don’t want to lose George and get nothing in return
I know, we said we were looking at things from the Lakers’ perspective, but if you’re Indiana’s front office, you don’t want George walking and getting nothing in return. That’s why, hopefully, there are calls being made to Los Angeles this week.
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1hr agoWATCH: Draymond Green says 'it's BS' that Klay Thompson was left off All-NBA teams
Another set of awards comes out, another set of players complaining about the results.
Never shy about speaking his mind, Warriors forward Draymond Green made a fuss during his media availability on Thursday. Green himself made the All-NBA Third Team with fellow Warriors stars Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry both making the Second Team, but Green's beef came from the omission of his teammate, Klay Thompson.
"Yeah, I think it's b---s---," Green said when asked about Thompson not making any of the All-NBA teams. "When you look around the team, what'd we win, 67 games or something like that? ... I think Klay's one of our top three guys, you know, and to not to be on an All-NBA team, I think is pretty crazy.
"It's some guys on [the All-NBA teams], as scorers, averaging 20 points, and don't have as near as many wins as we have. So how he could be left out, I don't really understand it. You know, also the way Klay can defend. I don't understand it, but I guess they gotta find some way to punish us."
Punish the Warriors? What, like, for being too good? Being too much fun to watch? Green clearly likes to operate with a chip on his shoulder, but it would be great to see the rest of his evidence that the NBA and/or the media are trying to punish one of its most popular teams of all time.
When asked which players he would take off the team to make room for Thompson, Green didn't get specific, but he did mention that when it comes to selection he feels that "winning can't be that important."
You have to appreciate Draymond sticking up for his guy, but he really doesn't have much of a case. Since Thompson is a guard, he would have to replace one of either James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Curry, Isaiah Thomas, John Wall or DeMar DeRozan, all of which had great seasons on teams with at least 47 wins.
The Warriors were certainly the best team in the NBA in the regular season -- that's not up for debate -- but in Thompson's case he was just squeezed out by players who had better individual years. That's the sacrifice you make when you're playing with three potential Hall of Famers. But if you ask Wall or DeRozan if they'd trade their Third Team spot to be in the Warriors' position in the playoffs, they'd probably take it in a heartbeat.
Isaiah Thomas Says Celtics Aren't Scared of Cavaliers Despite Game 1 Loss
Brian Babineau/Getty Images
Isaiah Thomas, fresh off a 117-104 trouncing at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, said on Thursday the Boston Celtics aren't about to start panicking.
"We can't panic. It's only one game," he told reporters, via Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com. "One game. They took care of business and we just gotta take care of business in Game 2."
He continued: "I believe in these guys. We're not scared of Cleveland. They're not the Monstars. They're not on Space Jam. They lace up their shoes just like us. They just happened to play better than us in Game 1. We just gotta protect home court in Game 2 and get the win."
Recovering against LeBron James and the defending champions isn't something any team has been able to do this postseason, however. The Cavs are 9-0 in this year's playoffs and now 4-1 against the Celtics overall in the 2016-17 campaign.
Still, doubting Thomas has been a fool's errand this year. The diminutive guard established himself as one of the game's most dangerous offensive weapons this season, averaging 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game.
This postseason, he's led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals, all while dealing with the death of his sister and a tooth that was knocked out against the Wizards. But Thomas and the Celtics aren't done yet, as he said on Thursday, per Forsberg:
"We're not just happy to be here. We want to win this series. And that's what we're trying to do. We want to let everybody in this world know that we're for real and that we're one of the top teams in the NBA. With this series, we gotta go out and show the world. Everybody knows that everybody is counting us out. And we've been there before, though. It's nothing new for us."
It's nothing new for James and the Cavaliers either. So the Celtics, no matter how confident they remain, still face a daunting task.
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