8p9s Mailbag: The cost of acquiring Kawhi Leonard, finding minutes for Glenn Robinson III, and magical Lance gifs

Each week or so will be an opportunity for us to answer any Indiana Pacers related questions you may have. To send us your questions tweet us at @8pts9secs or Facebook us at @8points9seconds.

Yikes, what a week it’s been for the Pacers.

Coming out of the all-star break, you would have thought the squad would be ready to ball out and take advantage of having three straight games against two of the NBA’s worst teams, especially considering the injection of healthy Glenn Robinson III. Unfortunately, we’ve seen the opposite. The Pacers have looked lost on defense while struggling offensively (all without Darren Collison, who still is out with a knee injury, and Cory Joseph starting at PG), and they’ve somehow managed to look like a completely different team than we saw heading into the break.

While there have been some bright spots that are worth noting, including Bojan Bogdanovic becoming a lethal scorer again, and Myles Turner displaying some nice offense, that hasn’t been enough to get the Pacers to take a step forward.

With a treacherous schedule ahead, including 16 games against teams with winning records, the Pacers will need to get DC back healthy (priority #1) and get back to playing the type of all-around game we’ve seen this season. I love the addition of Trevor Booker, who should add a new level of toughness that this team is desperately missing, but my questions still remain moving forward.

But enough about my questions. Let’s answer yours. MAIL TIME!!!!

If the Spurs make Kawahi available who would you be willing to give up?
— Chris Rodriguez (@CRod1701) February 26, 2018

Let me first start by saying this, the Spurs are NOT going to make Kawhi Leonard available unless something drastic happens. I get that there have been some weird reports regarding the conflict over the treatment (or non-treatment) of Kawhi’s shoulder injury, but as it was reported this week the star forward should be ready to return later this month. Even if he doesn’t come back, and the drama continues, that isn’t enough to move on from a player who is considered to be the cornerstone of your franchise in the post-Duncan era.

However, for the sake of the question, I think the Pacers (and any other team in the league) would be idiotic to not do any type of due diligence into the cost of acquiring Kawhi Leonard should he “come available” (again it’s NOT happening). The former Pacer (for like 20 minutes) would be a great fit with this young, rebuilding team, who I believe is just a few pieces (specifically another star) away from being extremely relevant in the Eastern Conference.

Ideal Trade Scenario

Spurs receive: Myles Turner, Bogan Bogdanovic, Al Jefferson, Joe Young, 2018 First Round Pick (Unprotected), & 2019 Second Round Pick (Best Swap)

Pacers receive: Kawhi Leonard, Brandon Paul

More from 8 Points, 9 Seconds

In order for the Pacers to get Kawhi Leonard, they would have to part ways with Myles Turner, who is on the verge of stardom (in my opinion). If the Spurs don’t get back a young star, they wouldn’t take the Pacers seriously.

Moving Turner hurts, but with the emergence of Domantas Sabonis, it’s a move you can live with. Bringing back an all-star and game-changing talent in Kawhi Leonard, paired with Victor Oladipo instantly makes the Pacers a top 3 seed in the East.

The Spurs would probably first ask for Victor Oladipo, but I see no scenario where you trade him, even if it means bringing back a bigger star in Kawhi Leonard. Sometimes the value players have to not just a team, but the city and community mean more than anything.

Again, let me say, the Pacers aren’t going to acquire Kawhi Leonard because the Spurs aren’t trading him.

Sorry.

I touched on this a bit last week, but after seeing GRII play in three games after missing the entire first half of the season, I think it’s worth going more in-depth on.

Glenn Robinson III brings a skill-set that the Pacers really don’t have at the wing position, aside from Victor Oladipo. He is a tenacious defender, who’s athleticism and length can give a lot of dynamic scorers problems, while also providing spacing and the ability to score around the rim on the offensive side of the ball.

When asked Nate McMillan was asked how GRIII would fit he told the Indy Star,

"“We need a bigger wing defender at that two (and) three position. We need rebounding. I think he can help us with our tempo with his ability to get out in transition and run. I’m anxious to see him out there. It was great to see him out there with that second unit today, trying to figure out where he can help the team.”"

It will be interesting to see how the rotation shakes out moving forward, especially after adding Trevor Booker, who should steal the minutes that Al Jefferson & TJ Leaf were splitting at one point, but I think you’ll see Glenn Robinson III take minutes from all three players mentioned in the question. Here’s how the minutes have shaken out so far this season for those guys.

Through three games Robinson III has played 12, 21, and 19 minutes respectively. In those same games we’ve seen several players see decreased and increased minutes, showing that Nate McMillan is still in the midst of trying to figure out the best rotation moving forward. For example, in the first match-up with the Hawks, McMillan played Joe Young a total of 22 minutes, but in the second match-up, he only played 17 minutes.

Against Dallas, Lance Stephenson played just 20 minutes (compared to his 23 minutes per game average) but received 30 minutes against the Hawks in their second match-up.

At this point, it is too early to tell who will have to “sacrifice” minutes, but my guess is it will be based off match-up and who is playing well. You could also see Nate play more Lance or even Joe Young more at the 1 due to the struggles of CoJo, which could open up more minutes on the wing.

I don’t think there’s ever been a better #mailbag question than this. Thank you, John, for making my job fun.

We’re talking about the guy who may have one of the greatest Indiana Pacers quotes of all time, “When I got that jersey on, I just got powers.”

This could go in so many different directions because let’s face it, Lance Stephenson )aka Born Ready) is a walking gif. Everything he does is worthy of making the list. But because I don’t think the editors here at 8 Points, 9 Seconds would appreciate me putting in 3,000+ gifs, I’ve narrowed down the list to just 10.

Here they are ranked from great to G.O.A.T.

#10