WALTHAM, Mass. -- Jae Crowder was certain the Boston Celtics had landed their first free-agent prize in nearly two decades, and teammate Isaiah Thomas wasn't arguing with him.
The two players were huddled in an Atlanta hotel room after the Celtics delivered their late-night sales pitch to Al Horford at the start of free agency in July. The only question seemed to be whether they'd get a commitment quickly enough to sneak Horford onto the private plane waiting to take Boston's contingent to the Hamptons to meet with Kevin Durant.