Larry Bird claims the Indiana Pacers weren't interested in trading Paul George at the deadline.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics were amongst the teams who called Bird. Magic Johnson's call to Bird lasted less than five minutes and consisted mostly of small talk.

“I wasn’t motivated to move Paul George at the deadline,” Bird said. “I can’t remember if it was even brought up or not. I don’t think it was. It’s all fake news anyway. You know that. Somebody’s gonna start it and [it] just was a snowball effect. [The phone call] was not about Paul George.”

George can become a free agent in 2018 and reportedly will consider signing with the Lakers.