The Indiana Pacers offered the Boston Celtics Myles Turner, a first-round pick and a rotation player for Gordon Hayward last week, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told IndyStar.
“We pursued as hard as we possibly could,” Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said about Hayward via Zoom call with media Wednesday. “If you can add a player that materially improves you, you have to take a shot. ... It hurt a little bit more this time because the feedback was he wanted to be here. We were probably overpaying in the trade but we were willing to try to get a special player. It can't come at a cost that's so debilitating that it doesn't make sense."
The deal fell apart because the Pacers wouldn’t include a second starter instead of a bench player, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said. The Pacers didn’t have any cap space, so it was the only way to consummate the deal.
Celtics president Danny Ainge had his bluff called, but not by the Pacers. The Charlotte Hornets signed the deal to give Hayward $120 million over 4 years and then Ainge wanted to go back to Indiana to negotiate in “good faith” with Indiana.
It was Hayward’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, who pulled the plug on it. Hayward was heading to Charlotte.