Better luck next time, Boston Celtics fans.
The Indiana Pacers plan to keep Paul George after passing on trade offers for their All-Star forward, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports’ “The Vertical” reported minutes before Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
Indiana has passed on trade offers for Paul George and All-Star forward will remain with the Pacers, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 23, 2017
The Celtics appeared to be in the mix for George on Thursday, reportedly having discussions with the Pacers that included talks of including the rights to their 2017 first-round pick swap with the Brooklyn Nets. It also was reported that “more than a few” NBA teams thought Boston had a serious chance of landing George, even with the reported asking price being very high.
Yet other reports suggested Indiana wanted to retain the 26-year-old forward, opting for the path of pursuing other players to build around a core of George, Jeff Teague and Myles Turner. It appears the team is taking that path, turning away the Celtics’ pitch and a reportedly “monster” offer from the Denver Nuggets to keep George in town.
After this season, though, George’s future looks less certain. His contract expires in 2018 with a player option for the 2018-19 season, but the Los Angeles native reportedly is strongly considering signing with his hometown Lakers.
Thumbnail photo via Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports Images
