Back at the NBA trade deadline, the Pacers did not take seriously the notion that star forward Paul George was already contemplating his escape from Indiana. Enough rumors and innuendo had spread that executives around the league were calling the Pacers' front office, and while the team fielded offers for George, they did not seriously pursue a trade.

It was a mistake then, and it’s coming back to haunt the Pacers now ahead of Thursday's NBA Draft.

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Instead of corralling a worthy package in February, Indiana is looking for a panic-time deal involving George, one they hope to close ahead of Thursday’s draft. The league has been warned that George wants to play for the Lakers, vastly undercutting any package for George, especially if the Pacers had hoped to add draft picks.

But the Pacers could, too, wait until after July 1 on a deal, if their best course of action involves a sign-and-trade. That, at least, gives the Pacers the chance to widen their base of possible George trade targets. Among them, league sources told Sporting News, are the Clippers, who have three significant free agents — Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick — and are desperate to add a player who could change their perennial postseason disappointment. The Clippers have expressed interest in George.

Any team trading for George would be gambling that it could persuade him to stay in free agency, and not bolt for the Lakers in 2018. That limits the teams Indiana can deal with to a handful of contenders or teams willing to take a risk. The Clippers have slipped in their status as contenders, but they’re not risk-averse and can get George to Los Angeles, if not with the Lakers. The Clippers could work out a three-team trade to accommodate a guy like Redick or Griffin.

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As The Vertical reported, the Cavaliers have already contacted the Pacers about a potential deal for George. While the Cavs have Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love to offer, that’s a steep price for a guy headed into free agency in the summer of 2018. Cleveland also has no 2017 draft picks to offer.

The Pacers would like to pull two first-round picks for George, as well as a rotational player. That’s expensive for a player with a good chance of being a one-year rental.

The Celtics had conversations about George at the trade deadline, and those talks will be re-ignited. The Celtics dropped down from the No. 1 spot this year, acquiring Philadelphia’s No. 3 pick and a pick in either 2018 or '19. That leaves them with (potentially) three first-round picks in 2018, and somewhere between two and four first-rounders in 2019. Boston could add George for this season, plus a max-level free agent this summer, and take their chances that they can put together an NBA Finals run, pushing George to stick around in the process.

Another team to keep an eye on: Houston. The Rockets don’t have a pick in this year’s draft, but they have young talent on hand (Clint Capela, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell), and have their first-rounders going forward. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey would be willing to take the chance that being part of a contender in Houston, and playing in Mike D’Antoni’s system, would appeal to George.

But the Pacers are backed into a corner now, preparing to miss out on the kind of bounty they could have gotten for George in February. Now, though, the Pacers are just trying to rescue some package of assets for a player they should have known was preparing for his exit all along.