According to Zach Lowe, the Indiana Pacers were pretty active at this year’s NBA Trade Deadline. The Pacers talked to the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, and Denver Nuggets to gauge their interest in Paul George.
There was a lot of talk about Paul George wanting to head to the Los Angeles Lakers either in a trade or after his contract expires, so the Pacers wanted to see what other teams had to offer. There were reports that the Hawks offered a big deal for George and Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls.
The 76ers reportedly offered Robert Covington, at least two first-round picks, and one of their bigs for Paul George, per Liberty Ballers.
Lowe did say the Pacers weren’t seriously looking into trading their star player, but they were plenty of talk about it around the deadline.
The Pacers were also said to be trying to trade Rodney Stuckey in an attempt to land a big man who could play defense.
“They explored trading Rodney Stuckey for a backup rim protector, including John Henson, sources say, and Bird will dangle Indy’s first-round pick again this summer in search of veteran help.”
This wasn’t the only move the Pacers were willing to make. They attempted to trade a first-round pick for veteran help. This was due to Paul George saying he wanted to play for the Pacers as long as they were a contender. Since the Pacers know their time with George on the roster could be limited, they were trying to do what they could in order to keep their star happy.
