Report: Pacers turned down Celtics offer of 3 first-round picks, 2 starters for Paul George

The Boston Celtics reportedly offered a package of picks and players for Paul George on draft night, but Indiana declined the trade.

Don’t blame Celtics President Danny Ainge for his lack of effort. It appears Ainge tried to push his chips to the center of the table in an attempt to trade for Paul George.

On draft night, Boston apparently offered a lucrative trade package but Indiana turned the deal down.

Jeff Goodman of ESPN had the following of the Celtics’ endeavors to land Paul George:

"“Celtics offer on draft night for Paul George, per league source, was 3 first-round picks (not the Nets pick next year or the Lakers/Kings pick) and two starters (Crowder being one).”"

The Pacers later dealt George to the Thunder but appear to have made a mistake by not shipping him to Boston. Indiana’s trade haul included just Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. To make matters worse, the report from Goodman makes the Pacers look even more foolish considering the offer they received at the trade deadline. Indiana could have had the first overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft! (Insert sad emoji here).

Jeff Goodman on the Celtics’ offer at the deadline:

"“Celtics trade offer for Paul George back at trade deadline, per league source: Brooklyn pick (wound up being No. 1) and 3 other first-rounders.”"

There was obviously a clear motivation to get George out of the Eastern Conference. Boston’s offer was much better, but the Pacers did not want George to come back to bite them in the East. Indiana got two players in the end but never got any draft pick compensation.

Next: Paul George trade rumors: 5 deals the Pacers should explore

Pacers fans everywhere have to be discouraged by the trade package they wound up getting. Isn’t Kevin Love, an All-Star caliber player, a better deal than what Indy got? Kevin Pritchard’s tenure in Indianapolis is off to a rocky start.