With only an hour to go until this year's NBA Trade Deadline, the Indiana Pacers have been very quiet so far. However, plenty of old friends and former Pacers players are constantly finding themselves on new teams. So far, Daniel Theis, Torrey Craig, Chris Duarte, and Bruce Brown are all on the move. With the latest trade, this trend continues, and it might be a big one for the Pacers.
Cavaliers trade Georges Niang, Caris LeVert for De'Andre Hunter
According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired De'Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks. In return, they are getting Georges Niang and Caris LeVert, two former Pacers.
The Cavaliers, who are 41-10, own the best record in the Eastern Conference. However, despite their successful season so far, some have doubted them as legitimate championship contenders. With this move, they get a fantastic wing who should boost the team on both sides of the court, pushing them even closer to legitimate title contention (if they are not already there).
Atlanta is getting Niang and LeVert, two players Pacers fans should be familiar with. Niang began his career in Indiana during the 2016-17 season. He played a very minimal role, however, averaging just 4 minutes across 23 games. LeVert's presence in Indiana was much more notable, however.
LeVert played parts of two seasons for the Pacers after they traded for him from the Brooklyn Nets in 2021. With the Pacers, LeVert appeared in 74 games and started all of them. In those games, he averaged 19.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals. His Pacers tenure came to an end in 2022 when they sent him to the Cavaliers for Ricky Rubio and multiple draft picks (two of which turned into Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard).
As it stands, the Cavaliers are easily among the top teams in the league. And now that they have Hunter, who is in the midst of a career year on the team, it separates them even more from the Pacers, who are the No. 4 seed in the East.
There is a lot of basketball remaining this season, but there is a chance that the Pacers match up with the Cavaliers in the playoffs. So far this year, the two teams have split the season series 1-1. They do not go head-to-head again this year until April 10 and April 13, two of Indiana's final three games, in what could be a playoff preview.