With Jimmy Butler being moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves, talks between the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers on Paul George have become more serious.
Boston selected Jayson Tatum at No. 3, who would presumably be moved to Indiana if a George deal is consummated.
George prefers a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers.
10:54 PM Update: A couple of rival teams expected the Celtics to reach a deal with Indiana on a trade. There's not an expectation the Pacers completing a George trade on draft night.
Picks, Pritchard give Pacers cause for hope
There have been no shortage of rumors. On Thursday alone, there was a report early in the draft from Adrian Wojnarowski of serious discussions with the Celtics that was followed shortly thereafter by word that the talks had stalled. The Spurs, Rockets, Blazers, Wizards and Cavs all have expressed interest along the way, and that most likely didn’t end with the draft.
“Multiple things came up tonight,” Pritchard said. “We looked at a lot of things that included draft picks but at the end of the day there’s so much other stuff that doesn’t include draft picks we decided to stay put and look at everything that’s on the board in the future. We’re not going to make a bad deal. We’re going to get what we want and that’s what we pursue and that’s what other teams are pursuing too. We’re going to do something we feel comfortable with.”
Although he did not set a deadline, Pritchard sounded confident this could be resolved before training camp.
“Right now,” he said, “there’s enough on the board that we feel good about that we can pull the trigger at any time.”
How much are you willing to give up for him? Are you confident Celtics can convince him to stay after one season? Is an extension even in play as some random tweet has suggested?
