Nate Taylor

IndyStar

INDIANAPOLIS — The annual NBA draft lottery didn’t include the Indiana Pacers. Yet a potentially important part of the Pacers’ future was revealed in Tuesday’s event.

The Boston Celtics won the lottery — receiving the first pick in the June 22 draft. The Los Angeles Lakers landed the No. 2 pick and the Philadelphia 76ers the third overall choice.

The Pacers, who own the 18th pick, want to keep Paul George, their best player, by re-signing him to a contract extension. Kevin Pritchard, the team’s new president, said as much earlier this month when he replaced Larry Bird. But the Pacers fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And George, who can opt out of his contract after next season, hasn’t committed himself to the franchise, instead asking Pritchard, in essence, to convince him to stay by acquiring more quality players this summer.

The other option — which has loomed over the franchise since the season ended — is Pritchard trading George to another team to receive some compensation before he could leave Indiana as a free agent.

The top three teams in the draft — the Celtics, Lakers and 76ers — all made attempts in February to acquire George before the trade deadline.

The Celtics, who reached the Eastern Conference finals Monday, had the best chance of receiving the top pick, 25 percent, because they acquired the Brooklyn Nets’ pick in a trade in 2013. The Nets had the league’s worst record at 20-62 last season.

In February, Bird was unwilling to trade George in the middle of the season as the Pacers were attempting to make the playoffs. The Celtics, led by team President Danny Ainge, were also not willing to trade the Nets’ pick because they wanted to see where it would land in the lottery. With the draft selection order in place, the Celtics are expected to re-engage trade talks with Pritchard to see what it would take to acquire George.

“Basically, we were offered a lot of things (last year),” Pacers owner Herb Simon said last month about the possibility of trading George in an exclusive interview with IndyStar. “We didn’t even think of taking any of them. Larry will give you a better feel for it, but the answer is you can’t stop people from making offers. But it wasn’t any question of accepting any of them.”

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Since then, though, the Pacers were swept out of the playoffs, Bird stepped down as team president and every team now knows how valuable their draft pick is after the lottery.

The Lakers, whom George is reportedly interested in playing for, kept their pick by landing the second pick. It could be their best asset in negotiating a deal with the Pacers for George. If Los Angeles’ pick slipped below No. 3, they would have lost it to Philadelphia due to a previous trade.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the Lakers’ new president, attended the lottery and served as the team’s representative for the ESPN-broadcasted event. Last month, Johnson acknowledged in a late-night TV interview that he would love for George to be a Laker.

George appeared on the same show, "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Monday night. In the interview, Kimmel did his best to try to convince George that he and fans in Los Angeles are ready to cheer for him a gold Lakers uniform.

“I love Indy, though,” George also said in the interview.

Another reason George could stay in Indiana is because this year’s draft class is considered to be full of prospects who have the potential to be superstars. The Celtics, Lakers and 76ers will have to decide whether to use their pick to acquire George in a trade or select one of the best players eligible in the draft. Washington’s Markelle Fultz, UCLA’s Lonzo Ball, Kansas’ Josh Jackson, Duke’s Jayson Tatum and Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox are considered to the top prospects by many draft analysts.

LaVar Ball, the father of Lonzo, has made it clear in several interviews that he wants his son to play for the Lakers, his hometown team. That possibility could become a reality next month if Ball is still available after the Celtics make their pick.

“I don’t think we’re going to be a major player this year,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday in New York of the Lakers' upcoming free agency plans in July. “I’m looking forward to next summer.”

Between now and the draft, which will be held June 22, Pritchard and the Pacers could have to determine which is more important to the franchise’s future: trading George or refusing offers yet again.

Call IndyStar reporter Nate Taylor at (317) 444-6484. Follow him on Twitter:@ByNateTaylor.

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