Paul George (Photo : Twitter)
As the coaching carousel continues, more trade talks emerge as loyalties and relationships are tested.
One of the early surprises prior to the offseason was the recent dismissal of Frank Vogel as the coach of the Indiana Pacers. Team President Larry Bird refused to say he fired him as he simply chose not to renew his contract. Nevertheless, Vogel was the latest coach to lose his position despite having a winning record overall.
Indiana's loss may be Orlando's gain and there are quarters who are hoping that the talent transfer between the two teams does not end there.
In the Magic team site Orlando Pinstriped Post, a post declaring the "reunion speculation" talked about a possible trade. It started off by quoting Paul George's message to his former coach on Instagram.
"To one of the most influential men in my life," George writes. "Our relationship and love doesn't end here.. Thank you for the journey and the memories we shared together! This pic sums up our relationship the best.. You talk I listen... And we figure it out together! Look forward to the wink the first basket I make while you're coaching against me."
George is a professional and is not known to incite trade talks so he faces the reality of not having Vogel around. But what is interesting to note is that the Orlando Magic is a team rich with young assets that they want to convert into a superstar-like what Paul George is.
In fact, this is not the first time speculation of Paul George going to Orlando was made. Early in the season, George was vocal about his opposition to the team's strategy to play him at power forward (but, again being a professional he eventually worked it out). SI.com was quoted with these questions at the start of the season.
"Will George win the power struggle and revert to his old preferences? Will Frank Vogel find himself in the middle? Will Indiana need to find frontcourt help at the deadline?"
The answers: George and the Pacers had a compromise but Indiana did not get frontcourt help. Vogel did find himself in the middle and possibly that's why he was let go.
The Lakers are rumored to be dangling their draft pick (no.2) and possibly D'Angelo Russell and/or Julius Randle. The Magic can address the frontcourt woes of the Pacers with Nik Vucevic, Ersan Ilyasova and perhaps Victor Oladipo or the 11th pick in this draft.
This is purely speculation but there are many packages that the Magic can offer if they really want to pursue PG13. The presence of Vogel would definitely help.
