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Hey, that Domas Sabonis kid is pretty good: 3 things it means for the Indiana Pacers

By Jonathan Matthes

MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball against the Miami Heat on October 21, 2017 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 21: Domantas Sabonis #11 of the Indiana Pacers handles the ball against the Miami Heat on October 21, 2017 at American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 24: Karl-Anthony Towns sandwiched between Thaddeus Young (21) and Sabonis
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – OCTOBER 24: Karl-Anthony Towns sandwiched between Thaddeus Young (21) and Sabonis /

So start him and trade Thad Young, right?

Wrong.

Domas Sabonis’ emergence puts the Pacers in a great spot, but making overzealous roster changes because of it — like trading away Thaddeus Young — would be a mistake. The biggest reason has nothing to do with Sabonis.

Any decision on moving Young should be based on Leaf and Glenn Robinson III’s development, not Domas’. It’s nothing against Sabonis the NBA has just moved against lineups with two primary post players.

Look at New Orleans, an argument can be made that they have the two of the best post players in the league on their team, and they’ve lost 18 of 32 with them. Now you need one post player and a bigger pseudo-wing who can rebound. In the ’90s we called them small forwards, but whatever, c’est la vie.

So while having the option of playing Sabonis and Turner together is excellent and flexible, having to do so out of necessity is not.

Which is where Leaf and Robinson come in.

Leaf is the natural replacement for Young. He’s got range, size and he knows what he’s doing with the basketball. Seeing how Leaf progresses this season will be key to figure out what to do with Young if he opts out. It would probably be smarter to keep Young around for a while and not rush Leaf, but Leaf’s play will determine that.

Another variable is Robinson. Playing Leaf at the four and Bojan Bogdanovic at the three would be disastrous defensively. To be most successful, Leaf — and Bogdanovic — need partnered with a quicker defender allowing them to rotate off onto the slower forward.

If Robinson can recover and build on last year’s success (he posted career highs in basically everything that matters) then Indy will not only be deeper than their currently shallowest position but also have more latitude in trusting Leaf with more minutes.

In any event, Young is too valuable to move.

Next: Indiana Pacers moving out of the back of the pack

Sabonis’ emergence both makes the Pacers present and future look really bright. And with each successive wonderful performance, Pacers fans, you can sit back like Homer Simpson does after the giant Lard Lad monster destroys the entire street and ask the previous Sabonis doubters, “Don’t you ever get tired of being wrong all the time?”

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