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5 players the Indiana Pacers can look for in trades this summer

By Jonathan Matthes

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 06: Kyle Kuzma #0 and Josh Hart #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers on the court during the game against the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center on February 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. 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. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 06: Kyle Kuzma #0 and Josh Hart #5 of the Los Angeles Lakers on the court during the game against the Phoenix Suns at Staples Center on February 6, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. 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. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Trey Lyles #7 of the Denver Nuggets
HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 09: Trey Lyles #7 of the Denver Nuggets drives to the basket defended by Eric Gordon #10 of the Houston Rockets in the second half at Toyota Center on February 9, 2018, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

The Pacers and Nuggets can prospect for (trade) gold

The Denver Nuggets are in an interesting spot. They have a very good and young team. Gary Harris, Nikola Jokic, and Jamal Murray have all winked all-star potential. Harris, in particular, is an excellent shooting guard, doing Indiana proud in the process.

The only problem for Denver is that their roster is going to get really expensive. They are already over the cap, and if they want to keep Jokic, Will Barton (a free agent this year) and Trey Lyles, they’ll be a taxpayer very soon.

Trey Lyles, PF

Lyles has both some size (he averages the same amount of rebounds as Thad Young but in about a dozen fewer minutes a game) and a shooting touch from the outside (he’s shooting 40% from three).  I’ll have to admit, my favorite thing about his games is that he wears those Easter egg blue sneakers, which not only look great but are super easy to spot.

Lyles’ problem is that he’s stonewalled from more playing time in Denver.

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Currently, the Nuggets like starting Jokic at the four and Mason Plumlee at the five. When Paul Millsap returns, Denver will have to start him and the four and shift Jokic to the five. At best Lyles is their third big and maybe their fourth come playoff time.

While Denver has an overabundance of bigs (they also have Kenneth Faried, Juancho Hernangomez, and Darrell Arthur) they don’t have much behind Harris and Barton on the wing. And Barton, as I said, is a soon-to-be free agent.

To be able to sign Barton and not creep up towards taxville, they’ll need to make some moves. Which is where the Pacers come into play. Indiana could offer an expiring contract to Denver for Lyles (who could start in Indiana) and one of their big contracts, like Faried.

Now, this doesn’t mean Indiana actually acquires Faried. If the Pacers and Nuggets can find a third team, this deal becomes near-perfect.

It would work like this: Indiana gets Lyles; Denver gets one of Indy’s expiring deals that would allow them to resign Barton; a cellar-dweller like, say Atlanta, would take on Faried’s expiring contract then receive a future draft pick each from Indy and Denver for shipping and handling.

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