If Ainge really drew the line at Crowder + Bradley/Smart and 2-3 1st round draft picks (that were not Brooklyn 18 or LAL18/SAC19) then I am glad he didn't let the noise get to him. The reported offer is already far superior what Indiana actually accepted, and to trade more for 1 year of George with no guarantee of extension is foolish. Even if George were willing to extend, I am not convinced it would be a good deal because even with a core of IT/Hayward/George/Horford, they would be good enough to maybe get by Cleveland, but would fall short of GS.
I think folks fail to realize that (1) Indiana really wanted to ship PG to the West; (2) even if Ainge was willing to include LAL18/SAC19 Indiana still might have insisted on Brooklyn18'; and (3) Maintaining roster flexibility while holding onto two potential lottery picks in a robust 2018 draft (with 3-4 potentially transcendant players) is not a negative.