NBA Rumors: Boston Celtics Attempting To Land Both Gordon Hayward And Paul George

Trevor Lane
3 Min Read
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA offseason has been absolutely crazy this year and appears to have no intention of slowing down. Indiana Pacers star forward Paul George has been the hot name on the trade market since informing the Pacers that he will not return when he becomes a free agent next summer and that his preferred landing spot is with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics have been trying to get in on a George deal and are also expected to pursue free agent Gordon Hayward this summer. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical, Boston is now attempting to line up a series of moves that would result in them landing both Hayward and George:

The Boston Celtics are pursuing an aggressive summer plan of sequencing the signing of free agent Gordon Hayward and relinquishing the assets needed to complete a trade for Paul George, league sources told The Vertical.

While Lakers fans were hoping to land George this summer, the feeling was always that if Indiana wasn’t willing to do a deal with L.A., then George would simply sign next summer as a free agent. However, the Celtics apparently believe they can stop that from happening:

The Celtics have a growing confidence they could sign George to a contract extension, and keep him from leaving to his predetermined free-agent destination of the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told The Vertical. Boston’s belief that it can make George more than a one-year rental is fueling the franchise’s willingness to part with a significant package of assets, league sources said.

Of course, this would be a disastrous result for the Lakers, who just used a valuable asset in D’Angelo Russell to clear Timofey Mozgov’s deal off their books so they could make a run at George and other big names next summer.

If Boston gives its best offer possible, involving young players and draft picks, it would be nearly impossible for the Lakers to match. It would be extremely tricky, but Boston could also potentially find a way to renegotiate and extend George’s contract, which would prevent him from ever hitting free agency.

Should the trade go down, the Lakers have to hope that he doesn’t extend his deal so that they can still get a shot at him next summer.

Trevor Lane is a longtime NBA and Los Angeles Lakers fan who had the good fortune to grow up during the glory days of the Showtime Lakers, when Magic Johnson, Kareem-Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, and the rest ruled the Great Western Forum. He has written about basketball, soccer, fantasy sports, MMA, and even pro wrestling over the course of his career, but the spectacle that is the Lakers is his true passion. He made the leap into podcasting for Lakers Nation and provides voice-over analysis for our YouTube channel. With a who's who of stars gracing the Lakers lineup over the years, including Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Pau Gasol, and many others, the Lakers always provide plenty to talk about. When he isn't writing or recording, Trevor can be found spending time with his wife and daughter or on the sidelines for one of the youth teams he coaches. Outside of the Lakers, Trevor is a supporter of the LA Galaxy, US Soccer, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Contact: trevor@mediumlargela.com