The Indiana Pacers have been stuck in mediocrity for a long time ever since their 2 runs to the Eastern Conference Finals where they lost to the LeBron James led Miami Heat. Having not made it out of the first round since 2014, Indiana has transitioned through a lot of leading stars like Paul George and Victor Oladipo, but the Pacers do not have a dynamic player on the roster like George and Oladipo were in their primes. They need to overhaul this roster, and with The Athletic’s report coming out that they want to make moves, let’s see what moves Indiana can, cannot, should, and should not make.
Since he recently signed a contract extension, Malcolm Brogdan can’t be traded so do not make any fake Brogdon trades and think they can happen this season because they can’t. One player Indiana can, and likely will, trade is guard Jermey Lamb. Lamb is in the final year of a 3 year contract he signed in 2019 and is a very moveable player. One thing to note about the Pacers right now is that they are right on the border of the luxury tax so the Pacers could use Lamb to dump his $10 million and get some breathing room from the tax. They could also look to move Justin Holiday and Torrey Craig to help create space from the tax so if they do make a big move, can they bring in more money than they send out should it be necessary.
The players that have been most mentioned in trades are Caris LeVert, Myles Turner, and Domantas Sabonis. LeVert is the most likely to be dealt. After being acquired for Victor Oladipo in the 4-team James Harden blockbuster, LeVert has been a disappointment this season. He started off his tenure in Indiana missing time due to a kidney condition and said the trade may have saved his life. So taking away that part and just focusing on his play on the court, he actually played well when he returned last season, averaging 20.7 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.6 rebounds on 44% shooting from the field and 32% from 3. However, this has not been the case in 2021-22 to this point, all of his numbers are down with 14.7 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.7 rebounds on 42% shooting and 26% from 3 point range, yikes. LeVert’s value is not as good as previously, but he has a year left after this season on his contract so maybe if the Pacers take back money that is not good they can get good value from LeVert. However, I still think LeVert is a good player who can help anyone and someone should trade for him.
Indiana has been rumored to want to trade Domantas Sabonis OR Myles Turner. So should they keep one? I say, for now, they should not trade both players in season but once the offseason comes around then you can trade the other. The better player is Sabonis. He is a very good passer, a good scorer, and a solid defensive player, just a more skilled player than Turner is. However, Myles Turner is an elite rim protector and an elite 3 point shooter. He is shooting 40% from 3 point range this season on nearly 5 attempts per game and is averaging 2.8 blocks per game. He would almost be a match made in heaven for the Warriors. He is the perfect stretch five and rim protector for Golden State who hopes to win a championship. What would the Warriors be willing to part with is the question. The contracts they could use are James Wiseman, Jonathan Kaminga, and a minimum player, would the Warriors be willing to part with all of that stuff to add Turner? Who would trade for Sabonis? He has one more year on his contract than Turner does so teams should be willing to trade more for Sabonis. Maybe a team who is trying to start to come out of a rebuild would be willing to swing a deal. One team I would keep an eye on for Sabonis is the Detroit Pistons. I am not saying Detroit is going to trade for Sabonis, but I am saying that Cade Cunningham is legit and getting him an All-Star to play with might not be a bad idea. If I was running the Pacers, I would keep Turner. I have not always been the biggest Myles Turner fan but he has been awesome over the last 2 seasons. The way he shoots it and can defend, to go along with the fact that they could probably get more for Sabonis, leads me to believe that the Pacers should try and not only keep Myles Turner for this season, but try and give him a contract extension this summer. However, if they get an offer they cannot refuse for Turner, Indiana needs to take it.
Another name to keep an eye on is T.J. Warren. Warren has not played since December 29th, 2020, but he was awesome in the bubble averaging 26.6 points and 7.6 rebounds on 52% from the field and 42% from three point range in 10 games (including the playoffs). He also has an expiring contract so any team trading for Warren would have to be a team who wants to win and be willing to risk that he might not be as good as he was. The Lakers are a team I could see take a shot at T.J. Warren. With the expectation that Warren should return at some point in the next couple of weeks, maybe he plays well and the Lakers offer Talen Horton-Tucker to get Warren on their team. That is a deal that makes sense for both sides, the Pacers get a longer term investment and Los Angeles adds a wing who can flat out score.
The Indiana Pacers might be entering a long overdue rebuild. This has been coming ever since they traded Paul George and now it is here, or so it seems. The Pacers have had solid teams over the years but they have not had a great team since that 2-year run with George, Roy Hibbert, David West, and Lance Stephenson. This is a roster that has good players but is just a weird group which the Pacers should split up.
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