Will there be an Indiana Pacers trade before the deadline? That remains to be seen, but the team should at least look at these players who are rumored to be on the block.
With a little more than two weeks remaining until the NBA’s trade deadline, the Indiana Pacers find themselves in kind of a weird spot. Despite their 18-32 record, the team is closer to the playoffs than the bottom of the Eastern Conference: 3.5 games away from the 8th seed but 7.5 games up on the lowly Knicks and 76ers.
The All-Star break is also coming, however.
And considering the rash of injuries that have plagued this team during the first half of the season — not to mention Larry Bird’s recent comments about maybe wanting Paul George to play this season — the possibility remains that the Pacers could use the break to get healthy and get after it during the second half of the season.
Bird himself vocalized the team’s current dilemma with his comments Tuesday.
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Not only did he speak on George’s potential return, but he talked about the team being in “win-now” mode, only to later acknowledge the importance of adding youth and depth to a squad that has two of its oldest, most important, and most expensive players holding player options this offseason in David West and Roy Hibbert. Bird also touched on the pair of big men during his meeting, fully aware of the fluidity of the team’s situation.
That said, it doesn’t make the answers any easier. A competitor like Bird, along with the appeal of playoff revenue to ownership, means a small-market franchise like Indiana will almost always favor a playoff run over a tank job, especially when this squad’s plans were basically derailed only by injury in the eyes of the management.
But with the imminence of the deadline and the appeal of adding a top-five draft choice to what, as Bird mentioned, is already an established core, many fans would like to see the team shift into seller mode at the deadline. That’s obviously tempting for good reason — this team’s future would be much brighter with a stud rookie in the fold than without, and the team does have a few assets to potentially unload: Lavoy Allen, Ian Mahinmi, C.J. Watson, Chris Copeland.
There are other, more important pieces who could be moved as well, but it would take an very fair offer to pry any players whom the Pacers consider part of their core. Considering the abundance of high-profile trades already this season, it seems unlikely there might be another involving the likes of a West, Hibbert or Hill.
Still, there are players the Pacers are certainly targeting, and Bird indicated that the team has been active on the phones during recent weeks. If the deal is right, Larry Legend has shown that he will pull the trigger.
Here are a few players who could be on the block that might make good Indiana Pacers trade bait.
Next: Another Reggie
Reggie Jackson
Oklahoma City’s mercurial guard has been on the market seemingly forever, but with the Thunder’s recent addition of Dion Waiters, his days there might finally be numbered.
As an impending restricted free agent, Jackson has made clear that he will be exploring his market and pursuing the highest possible payday for himself. That’s normally the standard for a young player coming off their rookie deal, but Jackson’s situation has permeated his play, and while it doesn’t necessarily show up in his statistics, his relationship with teammates has reportedly deteriorated this season.
So why would Indiana want him?
Despite his attitude issues, Jackson is a talented young point guard who would fill a need for Indiana as a slashing, catalyzing playmaker who can get to the rim. Bird identified shooting guard as the Pacers’ biggest need Tuesday, and even though Jackson is a point guard, acquiring him would allow George Hill to fill that need and slide to the two, a role he’s probably more ideally suited for anyway. Both guards can guard either position, so that backcourt combination wouldn’t be an issue on that end either.
Plus, Jackson has gone fishing with PG.
Next: Return of the Prodigal Sun
Miles Plumlee
Since he is a former first-round draft choice of the team, Miles Plumlee may be a strange choice for an Indiana Pacers trade target. Andthe idea of trading for Plumlee has already been covered to some extent in this space.
But with the addition of Brendan Wright and the emergence of Alex Len out in Phoenix, Plumlee has been the odd man out in their big man rotation, a situation he’s apparently unhappy with.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, both parties seem open to finding a new home for Plumlee, but the Suns are reportedly seeking a first-round pick for him, a price the Pacers will be almost certainly unwilling to meet, considering they already spent a first-round choice to select the center in the first place.
If Phoenix lowers their asking price, Plumlee might look a bit more enticing to Indiana, as Bird has indicated the team is looking to add both youth and size.
The Pacers already have a stable of big men under contract with Hibbert, Mahinmi, West, and Allen, though, plus a size experiment in Shayne Whittington cooking in the D-League.
With his useful but limited skill-set, Plumlee doesn’t seem worth the pursuit for Indiana, UNLESS Bird could find a way to pry Goran Dragic from the Suns as well, a player he’s long coveted and pursued in the past.
Next: Wolve Man
Nikola Pekovic
The Montenegrin center doesn’t seem to be part of the Timberwolves’ future plans, and he’s in the second year of a five-year, $60 million contract extension. As a salary swap, he’s one of the few available players who would work with someone like Hibbert, and he would actually somewhat fit the Pacers’ style as well, since he’s a true back-to-the-basket center who can score the basketball.
Pekovic’s numbers are down this year, but he’s battled injuries and the Timberwolves are not very good anyway. His ability to score consistently on the block would add another option for this team’s offense.
He doesn’t bring Roy’s defensive presence, obviously, as few do, but Vogel has shown his system is sound at that end, and Pekovic would benefit from Indiana’s plus-defenders at other positions.
The T-Wolves also have other young players — like Anthony Bennett or even Shabazz Muhammad — who could be available in any swap, which would be very appealing to the Pacers.
Next: Like Sugar Rays
Thomas Robinson / Meyers Leonard
The pair of Portland big men have been vying for a spot in the Blazers’ rotation, and in their future, for awhile now. Portland has also had interest in Hibbert for awhile now — remember, they signed him to the offer sheet that is now his current contract.
Robinson or Leonard could be at the center of any trade package for Hibbert, but the Blazers would also need to include Robin Lopez and maybe another young player, probably someone like C.J. McCollum.
Lopez would provide an immediate, however temporary, replacement for Hibbert, and either Leonard or Robinson would be worth taking an extended look at power forward in Vogel’s system. While Robinson’s strength, defense, and effort would be right at home on the defensive end, his offensive game lags behind the sweet shooting stroke of Leonard.
McCollum has some promise at shooting guard as well, already mentioned as a position of need for the Pacers.
Next: The Last Resort
Lance Stephenson
Last but not least, Stephenson’s name has not stopped flowing in trade rumors during the last couple months, and his play since returning from a groin injury has done nothing to change that.
Lance stays averaging fewer than 10 points per game and shooting less than 40 percent from the field for the Hornets, which is definitely not what they’re paying him $9 million this year to do.
Kemba Walker will be out of the Charlotte’s lineup for a few more weeks after his knee injury, and Stephenson has failed to adequately replace him. It seems more likely that the Hornets will continue to dangle him in their search for someone better to hold things down in Walker’s stead, especially as Lance continues to flop.
If they become more eager to deal him, say, including a first-round pick in the deal, the Pacers might be more willing to listen, though their lack of interest earlier in the year would seem to indicate that a Born Ready homecoming won’t be happening.