Ranking the best trades the Boston Celtics ‘almost’ made under Danny Ainge
5. Paul George
Before adding Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward during the 2017 offseason, the Celtics had their eyes on another star forward.
Ahead of the 2017 NBA trade deadline, the Celtics had a “preliminary talk” with the Indiana Pacers about Paul George, according to Adrian Wojnarowski (then of The Vertical). However, he noted the two teams wouldn’t have “real dialogue until/unless” the Celtics were willing to add the Brooklyn Nets’ 2017 draft pick into the deal.
The Celtics did eventually include that Nets pick in their negotiations, per Wojnarowski, but they failed to meet Indiana’s “asking price” prior to the trade deadline. According to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe, they offered the Nets first-rounder — which wound up being the No. 1 overall pick — along with “three other future first-round choices,” but the Pacers didn’t bite at the time.
That didn’t stop the Celtics from circling back prior to the 2017 NBA draft, though.
A few days after George told the Pacers that he planned on leaving as a free agent in 2018, talks between Boston and Indiana “had gained significant momentum,” according to Wojnarowski. However, Woj said the Celtics never made a “real offer” (h/t Jared Weiss of The Athletic) for George before the Pacers shipped him to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Both Himmelsbach and ESPN’s Jeff Goodman reported the Celtics offered the Pacers three first-round picks and two starters (including Jae Crowder) on the night of the 2017 draft, but they reportedly weren’t willing to include the Nets’ 2018 first-rounder or the Sacramento Kings’ 2019 first-rounder. Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald confirmed their refusal to include either pick in their offer.
The trade worked out well enough for the Pacers, as Sabonis developed into a two-time All-Star and they flipped Oladipo for Caris LeVert in the James Harden blockbuster in January. Meanwhile, the Celtics can only wonder how much havoc a trio of George, Tatum and Jaylen Brown would have wreaked across the NBA.