The Celtics had far and away the best chance of landing Paul George in a trade from Indiana.
Until they didn’t.
League sources quickly confirmed an ESPN report that the Pacers are trading the All-Star forward to Oklahoma City for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Indiana was under the gun to move George, who had informed the team he was going to opt out of his contract after the coming season and leave as a free agent.
The news hit the Celtics as they were preparing to make their midnight free agent phone calls, and according to sources among those who have dealings with the club, the C’s were stunned.