Myles Turner and Doug McDermott or a big trade exception? That’s the question the Celtics had to answer last weekend when debating what to do with Gordon Hayward amid sign-and-trade talks with the Indiana Pacers. New information came to light this week out of Indianapolis with Pacers beat writer J. Michel of the Indy Star reporting that the Pacers had offered a package for Hayward in a sign-and-trade that included Turner, a rotation player (likely McDermott, according to league sources) and a future first-round pick.
"If you can add a player that materially improves you, you have to take a shot," Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard told reporters when discussing Hayward trade negotiations. "It hurt a little more this time (because) the feedback was he wanted to be here. We were probably overplaying in the trade but we were trying to get a special player…It can't come at a cost so debilitating that it doesn't make sense.”