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  6. article_body => "<p>The words of John Wall has resurrected the talk of Paul George playing for the Wizards in 2017-18, but nothing has changed to improve the prospects of that happening.<\/p>\n<p>1)&nbsp;George is under contract for $19.5 million with the Indiana Pacers before he enters a player option for 2018-19 that he\u2019ll surely exercise to become an unrestricted free agent. The Wizards have to make Indiana an offer that it\u2019ll accept but with understanding there no promises beyond that one year of George\u2019s services.<\/p>\n<p>2)&nbsp;Let\u2019s say the Wizards put forth enough in a salary match such as Marcin Gortat\u2019s $12.8 million for this season, Tomas Satoransky ($3 million) and first-round&nbsp;picks, which would come with a projected cap hold to make a deal work, would the Pacers want it? This isn\u2019t the same as Blake Griffin opting out of his deal with the Clippers to become a free agent. A team can deal directly with him in the open market (and no, the Wizards can\u2019t afford him). With George, the Pacers are the third party and can pull the plug on anything.<\/p>\n<p>3)&nbsp;Any deal that involves Bradley Beal, who is under contract for four more years, is a no-go. Can\u2019t have a Big 3 without him coming off his best season as a pro. And it would probably include Otto Porter being put into the deal for George. Porter, of course, doesn\u2019t have any incentive to do a sign-and-trade because he gets significantly less in such a deal under the new CBA rules. He\u2019d either have to really want to do the Wizards a solid or really love the prospect of being&nbsp;in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n<p>4)&nbsp;Assume that George were to end up here and wanted to stay despite all of those hurdles. The money alone makes it a salary cap nightmare with Beal\u2019s $25.4 million, Wall\u2019s $19.1 million and Ian Mahinmi\u2019s $15.9 million on the books when George would command a max of his own in the summer of 2018. To keep George around beyond (and he has even made it clear to Wall he wants to be in L.A.) would require financial gymnastics that aren't plausible.<\/p>\n<p>5)&nbsp;Having George linger all season long in Indiana knowing he\u2019s on his way out can be toxic. It\u2019s better for the Pacers and the player that they move and not allow this situation to drag out. Otherwise, every time George has a bad game or the team underperforms they\u2019ll face questions. Teammates and coaches will be bombarded with a season full of inquiries about the topic. It\u2019ll be a lost year instead of one where they hit the reset. There\u2019s no point of delaying the inevitable. Of course, the Pacers have taken this long knowing it was in the offing and haven\u2019t moved on George. Or they're simply waiting for the Boston Celitcs to put together a package. With their assets and plethora of picks, the Celtics can afford to take a gamble on George for a year.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnmidatlantic.com\/washington-wizards\/wizards-hope-sign-john-wall-contract-extension-offseason\">As CSNmidatlantic.com reported a few weeks ago,<\/a> Wall wants to see where the franchise&nbsp;heading before he signs an extension as early as&nbsp;this summer. While a player the caliber of George would wow him now, what would the Wizards look like in two years without George, Porter and a few first-round picks?<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>MORE WIZARDS:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.csnmidatlantic.com\/washington-wizards\/wizards-extend-qualifying-offers-otto-porter-and-bojan-bogdanovic-report\" id=\"media-card-link-1116401\">Wizards reportedly extend qualifying offers to Porter, Bogdanovic<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n"
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Wizards

Wizards

The words of John Wall has resurrected the talk of Paul George playing for the Wizards in 2017-18, but nothing has changed to improve the prospects of that happening.

1) George is under contract for $19.5 million with the Indiana Pacers before he enters a player option for 2018-19 that he’ll surely exercise to become an unrestricted free agent. The Wizards have to make Indiana an offer that it’ll accept but with understanding there no promises beyond that one year of George’s services.

2) Let’s say the Wizards put forth enough in a salary match such as Marcin Gortat’s $12.8 million for this season, Tomas Satoransky ($3 million) and first-round picks, which would come with a projected cap hold to make a deal work, would the Pacers want it? This isn’t the same as Blake Griffin opting out of his deal with the Clippers to become a free agent. A team can deal directly with him in the open market (and no, the Wizards can’t afford him). With George, the Pacers are the third party and can pull the plug on anything.

3) Any deal that involves Bradley Beal, who is under contract for four more years, is a no-go. Can’t have a Big 3 without him coming off his best season as a pro. And it would probably include Otto Porter being put into the deal for George. Porter, of course, doesn’t have any incentive to do a sign-and-trade because he gets significantly less in such a deal under the new CBA rules. He’d either have to really want to do the Wizards a solid or really love the prospect of being in Indianapolis.

 

4) Assume that George were to end up here and wanted to stay despite all of those hurdles. The money alone makes it a salary cap nightmare with Beal’s $25.4 million, Wall’s $19.1 million and Ian Mahinmi’s $15.9 million on the books when George would command a max of his own in the summer of 2018. To keep George around beyond (and he has even made it clear to Wall he wants to be in L.A.) would require financial gymnastics that aren't plausible.

5) Having George linger all season long in Indiana knowing he’s on his way out can be toxic. It’s better for the Pacers and the player that they move and not allow this situation to drag out. Otherwise, every time George has a bad game or the team underperforms they’ll face questions. Teammates and coaches will be bombarded with a season full of inquiries about the topic. It’ll be a lost year instead of one where they hit the reset. There’s no point of delaying the inevitable. Of course, the Pacers have taken this long knowing it was in the offing and haven’t moved on George. Or they're simply waiting for the Boston Celitcs to put together a package. With their assets and plethora of picks, the Celtics can afford to take a gamble on George for a year.

As CSNmidatlantic.com reported a few weeks ago, Wall wants to see where the franchise heading before he signs an extension as early as this summer. While a player the caliber of George would wow him now, what would the Wizards look like in two years without George, Porter and a few first-round picks?

MORE WIZARDS: Wizards reportedly extend qualifying offers to Porter, Bogdanovic