Paul George Rumors: Celtics Reportedly Never Gave Offer Before Thunder Trade

The Indiana Pacers didn't net a staggering return in their reported trade of Paul George, and it turns out they may have settled on a deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder because the Boston Celtics never came through with a strong offer. 

Appearing on ESPN2 Saturday, Adrian Wojnarowski (h/t Celtics Blog's Jared Weiss) reported the Celtics never presented the Pacers with a "real offer" before George was dealt to the Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. 

While the Celtics didn't present the Thunder with an offer Friday night, several reports indicated they did give Indiana proposals at the February trade deadline and the June 22 draft to try to pry George away from the Pacers. 

According to ESPN.com's Jeff Goodman, the Celtics' draft-night offer included three first-round picks and two starting players, one of whom was Jae Crowder. However, the Celtics reportedly refused to include their 2018 first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets or the Sacramento Kings/Los Angeles Lakers pick that will land in Boston through the Markelle Fultz trade. 

As far as the February trade-deadline offer goes, the Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach relayed word that the Celtics offered the Pacers a slew of future first-round picks, including the 2017 No. 1 overall pick that was eventually traded to the Philadelphia 76ers, which turned into Fultz. 

ESPN.com's Zach Lowe confirmed the Celtics did offer up their 2017 swap rights from the Nets in February. Lowe also provided background on the more recent trade machinations:

"Boston's most recent offer, whenever it was on the table, did not include any of the following: next year's Nets pick, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, or the Lakers-Kings pick Boston picked up from Philly in exchange for sliding down two spots in the draft. If the Celtics really offered three picks sometime in the past two weeks -- and I believe they did -- they came from some combination of Boston's own stash and extra protected 2019 first-rounders acquired from Memphis and the Clippers."

With the Celtics reluctant to part with their best young, cost-controlled assets, the Pacers quickly moved in another direction. 

Now it's the George and Russell Westbrook show in Oklahoma City as the Thunder eye a run up the Western Conference standings with one of the league's most dynamic superstar tandems in tow.