A draft night that began with the potential for a franchise altering trade ended quietly for the Indiana Pacers. Just minutes after the 2017 NBA Draft began, news broke that the Boston Celtics were in discussions to acquire Paul George. On the heels of Jimmy Butler going to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the potential for a deal created a frenzy at the Barclays Center.

By the middle of the first round, talks between the Pacers and Celtics had stalled, likely due to Boston’s reluctance to part with future assets, and Indiana moved forward with the 18th and 47th picks.

Kevin Pritchard addressed the media in Indianapolis afterward and indicated that the Pacers will continue to seek a trade for George.

“A lot of things still ongoing,” he said. “We’re not going to make a bad deal.”

While we don’t know what the Pacers will get for George, they added T.J. Leaf, Ike Anigbogu and Edmond Sumner, who they drafted after acquiring the No. 52 pick from the New Orleans Pelicans.

Leaf of course didn't receive as much attention at UCLA as Lonzo Ball, but he has the perfect offensive skill set to be effective immediately in the NBA. He will add some pressure to Myles Turner defensively if the two on the floor together, but on the other side of the ball they’ll create tremendous spacing for Nate McMillan.

“He’s so talented, so young. So it’s going to be a lot of fun playing with him, a guy who’s already got his foot in the door pretty deep,” Leaf said of Turner. “I’m really excited to play with him.”

At their best, a Leaf-Turner frontcourt would have created nice driving lanes for a certain superstar wing player. Alas, that’s unlikely as George irrevocably sits on the trade block.

Anigbogu, also out of UCLA, is raw and has a balky knee, but represents promise where Leaf doesn’t. His physical attributes intrigued many throughout the draft process, and he should be able to contribute on the offensive glass and defensively within the next few years if he develops accordingly. If able to stay healthy, he could become a nice rotational piece.

Sumner tore his ACL on Jan. 30 and is a guard without much of a three-point shot. This, even more than Anigbogu, is a flyer.

It’s not fair to Leaf, Anigbogu, and Sumner, but George continues to dominate any conversion involving the Pacers. It was refreshing to hear Pritchard speak candidly when asked about the situation, which has hamstrung the franchise since news broke Sunday that George won’t re-sign when he becomes a free agent in 2018.

“You’ve got to get past mad,” Pritchard said of the George ordeal. “I have to get past mad because we’ll make good decisions here if we’re methodical.”

More than half of the league has been mentioned as interested in George in the days since his intentions became public. The most prominent included the Celtics and Lakers, who are believed to have offered Julius Randle and 27th and 28th picks while the Pacers pushed for the second selection that was used on Ball.

In a perfect world, Indiana would have fielded offers for George that included a high pick on Thursday night to hasten a rebuild. Any chance of that vanished with the league’s other 29 teams aware that the swingman has already decided where he wants to sign a year from now.

“I know it’s not ideal,” Pritchard said. “But we didn’t put ourselves in this situation -- he did.”

Pritchard’s comments, which also included calling George’s pronouncement a “gut-punch,” peeled the curtain back on how things played out last weekend. The Pacers were moving forward with intentions to shuffle the roster around George and compete next season when his agent, Aaron Mintz, reached out. 

George’s camp has since tried to save face by floating it out that he didn’t want the Pacers to suffer as the Oklahoma City Thunder did when Kevin Durant left in free agency last July and they received nothing in return. The way Pritchard spoke made it clear that Indiana appreciated no such gesture and may have even made it harder to extract something substantial for George.

It could be quiet on the George front until free agency begins on July 1 and teams looking at options like Gordon Hayward swing and miss. The Pacers are rarely big players in free agency, but how things shake out on the open market will have a significant impact on the future of the franchise.