The NBA trade deadline did not see any superstar change jerseys but many of the deals could see fruition in the offseason.
One of these deals could involve Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. There was significant buzz at the deadline that George was headed to the Boston Celtics or even the LA Lakers. As always, Larry Bird shot down all trade talk pertaining to his superstar in the LA Times.
There were rumors about Magic Johnson, the newly installed president of basketball operations (same position that Larry Bird holds in Indiana) for the LA Lakers called up his arch rival. The speculation was that it's a trade proposal for George. Bird eventually clarified.
"I wasn't motivated to move Paul George at the deadline," Bird said. "I can't remember if it was even brought up or not. I don't think it was. It's all fake news anyway. You know that. Somebody's gonna start it and [it] just was a snowball effect. [The phone call] was not about Paul George."
Still, Bird would not rule out any changes as he reflected on his team's position for the season.
"You can put a team together, what you think's gonna be a pretty solid team on paper, and then when they get out there they don't mesh well," Bird said. "I'm sort of going through that this year. We thought we had a decent team that we thought could compete for the fourth or fifth seed. We haven't played as well as I thought we would all year. That's the growing pains. That's the frustration about it."
Trading George is probably the last option for Bird but it cannot be ruled out. The threat of PG13's free agency is real and with Magic Johnson at the helm, there could be more reason to consider the Tinseltown team. But the Boston Celtics could make a move on draft night.
As a piece on Hardwood Houdini pointed out, the Celtics have the best chances of winning the no.1 pick courtesy of the Brooklyn Nets. They picture a trade scenario on draft night, when the value of the Nets' pick is properly determined. With George's free agency looming over them, "it would be wise of Larry Bird to get some value out of George prior to his departure."
If the Celtics pick is first overall, Bird could actually consider letting go of George. No one is untouchable for the right price.
