Celtics Vying for Banner 18 in 2017–18?

As George R.R. Martin wrote approximately 1,000 times in his series A Song of Ice and Fire, “Words are wind.” And even if uttered by the NBA’s own Master of Whisperers Adrian Wojnarowski, rumors amount to no more than words on a page until the corresponding actions take place.

However, it seems as though it has been Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge’s plan all along to sign free agent Gordon Hayward and trade for Indiana Pacers forward Paul George. It has long been speculated that Hayward may want to sign with Boston in his free agent offseason to reunite his college coach Brad Stevens. Boston has also been linked in trade rumors with George for the past few years.

These scenarios seemed for a long time to be mutually exclusive. Hayward and George do, after all, both play small forward. Not to mention that the Celtics currently have Jae Crowder, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum at the position.

The above rumored offer for George includes Crowder, which would alleviate some of the positional congestion, and Stevens has already worked magic with unbalanced lineups. However, a couple other problems arise. George, Avery Bradley, and Isaiah Thomas are all unrestricted free agents at the end of next season. All three of them will be due contracts north of $20 million per year, and, though recent reports suggest maybe he is open to signing an extension, George has been expected to bolt for his hometown Lakers next offseason. Along with the money already allocated to Al Horford, the numbers simply don’t add up.

So, maybe this truly is an all-in approach. This could potentially be the Celtics’ best opportunity to challenge for an NBA Championship until LeBron starts to decline — and who knows when that will be. Ainge has done a very good job of rebuilding on the fly and setting this team up well for the future, but now is the time to consolidate assets and make a run, even if only for one season.

A starting lineup of Thomas, Bradley, Hayward, George, and Horford would instantly vault the Celtics into the conversation with the Warriors and Cavs. If the Celtics could pull off the George trade without giving up the 2018 Nets pick, that would be especially tantalizing.

Even in the unlikely scenario that the Celtics were unable to re-sign any of Thomas, Bradley, or George, they would still be left with Hayward, Horford, and a young core of first-round picks. There are far worse positions to be in. There hasn’t been a more exciting time to be a Celtics fan since the 2007 offseason, and we all know how that turned out…