8p9s Roundtable: What Will the Pacers Do Before the Trade Deadline?
By Jared Wade
Do you expect the Indiana Pacers to make a major move before the deadline?
Donahue: No. There really isn’t a “major” move to be made without dealing Roy Hibbert. The Pacers have shown no interest in breaking up their core to this point. Their recent resurgent play — four wins in five games, second-best offensive rating in February so far — won’t disabuse them of this attitude. They’ll make a big move, if they think it can’t help them win now, but I can’t imagine any realistic deals that meet that criteria.
Furr: I think a major move is very possible. Bird has long had eyes for Goran Dragic, and Larry Bird hates losing. The Pacers have a number of guys who could bring back decent return on middling-sized contracts, and those types of contracts sometimes add up nicely to match a single, larger contract.
Medworth: I don’t see anything major happening. Again, maybe Larry has been working on something in private, which he tends to do, but I just don’t know what the Pacers can really offer other teams at this point. The current guys, including last year’s starters, are finally getting into a nice rhythm. So I assume if anything happens it will be small.
Ochoa: I do not expect the Pacers to make any major moves before the deadline. Although this season hasn’t turned out to be as successful as the organization expected, everyone knows the reason why. The team that is out there on the court every night is not an accurate representation of where the Indiana Pacers are in relation to chasing the NBA title. I think the Pacers will need to see at least 30 games with Paul George at 100% to be able to know if a “major” change needs to happen. In the Pacers case, the only legitimate “major” change would be dealing Hibbert, West, or George Hill.
Washburn: No. I don’t think they are averse to it, I just don’t think any moves are out there. Further, I’m not sure they think they need to make a major move. They’ve been playing above .500 ball ever since George Hill got healthy, and if they continue their recent play, the 7-seed is in range.
Next: Time for a Tweak?