Are the Indiana Pacers shopping Darren Collison and Cory Joseph?
By Ben Gibson
The Indiana Pacers might be shopping around Darren Collison or Cory Joseph according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
Should the Indiana Pacers move Darren Collison? Or should they hold on to him? Or should they think about moving Cory Joseph?
Those ideas are now out in the real world as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst mentioned is his latest post that the Indiana Pacers might move one of their point guards. Windhorst dove into a number of possibilities around the NBA as the December 15th deadline for trading recently signed players approaches.
At the end of Windhorst’s piece, he mentioned this bit of intel, though it sounds as much like informed speculation as a solid trade rumor.
"LEAGUE EXECUTIVES BELIEVE Indiana might look to move one of its point guards. Darren Collison and Cory Joseph roughly split the position and are both in the final years of their deals. The team is high on rookie Aaron Holiday and could want to clear out room for him."
It makes sense that the Pacers would at least be floating around the idea. Darren Collison is an aging but still starting point guard, while Cory Joseph’s defense is something any team — contender or not — could use.
The emergence of Aaron Holiday as a scorer and more importantly, an NBA player, make this a worthwhile discussion. Before the Pacers got a good look at their rookie point guard, it might have been foolhardy to send one of the point guards out the door. With Victor Oladipo soon returning, someone’s minutes are about to take a hit.
Making a move with either Collison or Joseph does have its drawbacks. If you move Collison, you lose the team’s best distributor, one who totaled 17 assists in Indiana’s last win. If you take away Joesph, the bench unit’s defense takes a significant blow.
Both are on expiring deals, which adds to their trade value. However, my guess is with Collison in particular, a draft pick or another player is needed to get something of value in return. But if Indiana isn’t planning on keeping Collison beyond this season, it only makes sense to get what they can out of a trade now.
Next. Myles Turner has arrived… plan accordingly. dark
For now, this is just a rumor, but depending on how the Pacers look when Oladipo returns, it wouldn’t be surprising for the Pacers to start taking serious offers for one of their point guards.