Despite a furious final-day push from the Boston Celtics and other teams, Paul George is staying with the Indiana Pacers past the NBA trade deadline. A deal between the Pacers and Celtics didn’t get done before 3 p.m.
Paul George won’t be traded by the Pacers before the NBA trade deadline
Rumored deals with the Celtics and Nuggets didn’t come to fruition in time, but George’s long-term future in Indiana is still up in the air.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
It’s unclear how serious talks were, but there were indications that the Celtics were willing to include their best offer — swap rights on the Nets’ 2017 unprotected first-round pick — in the deal. There were even reports that the Pacers were calling other teams to clear roster space necessary to take in multiple players in a George blockbuster. In the end, though, no deal happened.
The Denver Nuggets also made a push for Paul George, but that ended because George’s camp indicated he wouldn’t re-sign there after 2018, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein and Chris Haynes. It’s likely that other teams tried to acquire George as well, though their offers do not appear to be serious.
Is this over, or are we just beginning?
The latter, most likely. While George is still a Pacer now, his long-term future in Indiana is up in the air.
The Pacers rebuffed all calls to trade George throughout the year, but shifted their tune and at least listened a day before the Feb. 23 deadline. While George is a terrific 26-year-old star that anyone should want to keep, he’s expressed frustration with the Pacers’ direction. Indiana is 29-28 and in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
In an interview with ESPN’s Marc Stein over the All-Star break, George stopped short of saying he would accept a contract extension with Indiana when his deal is up in 2018.
”As I told (team president Larry Bird), I always want to play on a winning team. I always want to be part of a team that has a chance to win it [all]. That’s important,” George told Stein. “Say what you want; I want to compete for something. It’s frustrating just playing the game for stats or for numbers or to showcase yourself. Man, I want a chance to play for a chance to win a championship.”
“I wanted to be the first and want to be the first to be able to bring a championship to Indiana. So that’s still on my mind ... and something I definitely want to achieve in Indiana.”
George made clear he’s still committed to Indiana, but winning is his top priority and it’s unclear if the Pacers can make his title dreams happen in the next 16 months. The Pacers could offer George a designated player extension worth $219 million over the five years after his deal expires, but only if he makes one of the three All-NBA teams in the next two years. Without that financial advantage, Indiana loses its best chip to keep George around long term.
That’s why Indiana explored George’s market. It’s better to get something valuable for him now than lose him for nothing.
So what happens now?
George will return to the Pacers and try to lead them up the East standings.
Talks will likely resume over the summer, and the Celtics will be back in the mix. Indiana must also worry about the risk of George leaving in 2018 to sign with his hometown Lakers, as has often been rumored.
Barring a major turnaround by the Pacers, this risk isn’t going away. But at least Pacers fans will be able to enjoy George star for their team for at least the next couple months.
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