Paul George let it be known that he has no interest in re-signing with the Pacers when his contract is up at the end of the 2017-18 season, so it makes sense that Indiana is looking for trade partners.
The Pacers have little leverage since teams know George wants out of Indy and have no assurance that he'll re-sign with whichever team he's traded to (especially given numerous reports that he intends to sign with the Lakers in 2018), but that reportedly hasn't stopped them from asking for a nice haul for their 27-year-old All-Star.
According to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has asked the Celtics for at least one starter, along with next year's Nets and Lakers draft picks in exchange for George. The Celtics apparently find the request to be unrealistic.
League source: Celtics waiting to hear back from Indy's Pritchard, but consider his current demand for George unrealistic.
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) June 29, 2017
Source added that Pritchard's last demand was for next year's Nets and Lakers picks, plus starting player(s).
— Mark Murphy (@Murf56) June 29, 2017
It's Negotiation 101 to begin by asking for more than you expect to receive, so this isn't much of a surprise. It's also no surprise that the Celtics turned it down, as Danny Ainge, Boston's president of basketball operations, has consistently shown his reluctance to part with future draft picks for current stars.
Next year's Nets and Lakers picks once again figure to be in the top five given the state of those franchises, so Ainge's hesitation is understandable. But just because the Celtics balked at this offer doesn't mean that a deal won't get done. The Pacers are ready to trade George -- it's just a matter of which offer they like the best.
