George’s Stay Might Be Near an End

Devean George, a Laker for seven seasons and three championship runs, might be in his last month with the franchise.

An unrestricted free agent after the season, he can test the market for the second time since the Lakers drafted him 23rd overall in 1999.

He signed a four-year, $20.9-million contract to stay with the team before the 2002-03 season, when the Lakers were intrigued by his bursts of brilliance, but his future is a little less certain this time around.

“I’m trying not to think about that,” George said. “That’s just part of the business. But this could be the last month. There’s been some great times. Ups, downs, a lot of fun times. Championships, eyes burning from champagne, cigar smoke.”

George, 28, has averaged six points and 3.3 rebounds in his career. He is averaging 6.6 points and four rebounds this season.

“We’re going to wait to see how the year ends up,” Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. “We’ll have discussions with his representative. He’s been an integral part of this team for several seasons now. He knows what we do. He’s going to have to make a choice as well. It’s tough to predict what’s going to happen.”

George said he would like to return, but also left open the alternative.

“Right now, this is the only thing I know,” George said of the Lakers. “I’ve never been on another team. Then again, I don’t know what’s available. I’m just going to finish the season, talk to my agent and see what the deal is.”

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Magic Johnson, Laker minority owner and vice president, predicted the team would make the playoffs because of a friendly schedule, but he also saw what most everybody else did after their 96-85 loss to San Antonio.

“They have too many home games to not make it,” Johnson said Thursday on TNT. “I think that they feel confident that they are going to make it. Before San Antonio showed up and showed them what a real world champion team is about, they had won four in a row. You can’t feel bad about losing to San Antonio.

“I think this was a measuring stick for the Lakers, to let them know that they are still in the second tier in the Western Conference. They’re OK with that. If they can make the playoffs, it will be a great situation.”