What does this Anthony Davis stuff mean for the Indiana Pacers?

The Indiana Pacers won’t be getting Anthony Davis, but his trade demand could impact them in other ways.

Today, Anthony Davis demanded a trade out of New Orleans, according to reporting from ESPN. This news could potentially impact the Indiana Pacers.

No, not in the way you are thinking. The Pacers will not be trading for Anthony Davis. There is no return the Pacers could offer that wouldn’t be beaten unless they gutted literally all of their assets for a rental, which wouldn’t happen. So let’s jump past that.

But this news out of New Orleans could impact the Pacers in other ways. Teams just don’t sit on the sidelines and watch blockbuster stuff happen.

ESPN’s Zach Lowe did a podcast right after the Davis news discussing all of the moving parts involved. I am paraphrasing, but he and his guests, Brian Windhorst + Howard Beck, said something to the effect of this:

Every team is calling New Orleans. They are not all calling New Orleans to say “we want Davis” but rather to say “keep us in the loop as to how we could potentially be involved”. Whether that be by being the third team to facilitate the trade or the extra team needed to get assets moving in the right direction, everyone is trying to get involved if it benefits their organization.

The Pacers can’t get Anthony Davis. They just can’t. But they could be involved in another way; scooping up some of the assets in a huge move where they take back long term money or sending out expiring contracts to a third team to help facilitate a deal, for example. In some indirect way, Indiana could be involved.

The Pacers unique combination of talent and expiring contracts have put them in this scenario a lot this season. I think, as Zach described, they probably called New Orleans and said they are willing to be looped into a bigger deal. But I don’t think that ultimately happens. There are just too few scenarios that require a third team since there are only a handful of teams that make sense as a Davis destination.

But, choo-choo, the train of Indiana Pacers involvement doesn’t stop there. Lowe said at another point in the show that the Pelicans are shopping some other dudes as well:

All three of those players are good players. Mirotic got traded for a first-round pick last season (and bad money, but he was in demand). Moore is having one of the best seasons of his career (and went to Purdue!). Many in the Pacers sphere of fandom wanted Randle this summer (not me!). There is an upside to acquiring any of them.

The trouble here is that they are all on expiring contracts (effectively, Randle will almost certainly decline his player option in the summer). Trading for any of them could be a “rental” situation, which is unappealing to many teams.

The Indiana Pacers are one of those teams. In a world where they still have Victor Oladipo, maybe the team throws some stuff at Randle or Mirotic to be their backup 4 the rest of the season. Mirotic can space the floor – a skill that Kevin Pritchard covets at power forward. Randle gives a ton of effort all the time, making him a great bench big. Just one week ago, there was a fit here in Indy for these guys. It would have made a lot of sense to go for a rental at the backup 4 spot in a push for a deep postseason run.

Now, with the season at a crossroads, a more forward-thinking approach is being taken. It’s more important to play Sabonis and Turner together more often – as well as find development minutes for TJ Leaf. Sending assets for a backup 4 makes little sense as it conflicts with these goals.

Honestly, it doesn’t really improve the team much either. Mirotic and Randle are both much better than Leaf at this point in time, but he only plays like 8 minutes a night. In the other minutes that the newly acquired player would slot into, they are taking time from one of Sabonis/Turner/Thaddeus Young, which is unappealing on the path to success – both present and future. Given that it would take assets to acquire a guy who would slash the playing time of the teams more important players, Indy should be out on those two guys at his point in time.

E’Twaun Moore, on the other hand, you could talk me into. Edmond Sumner started last night. I’m not saying that is bad., seeing what you have in him is crucial, and his development could lead to something great in the future.

But if the Pacers are going to faux-compete the rest of the way, adding a guy who could at least start when the injury-prone (and not particularly effective this season) Tyreke Evans is out could be appealing.

Unlike in the forward scenario in which the newly acquired player is taking minutes from good players, in this case, Moore is taking minutes from young players. The development time given to Sumner and Aaron Holiday going forward is vastly more important than acquiring the former Purdue player, sure, but Nate McMillan said that Sumner or Holiday could both play in a given game, depending on the matchup. They would still both get time, albeit less.

Having Moore, in this case, does help your team be better at a (probably) very low cost. You would probably only have to sacrifice a 2nd round pick and some development time for the kids.

Is that enough to get the Pels to budge? Eh, I don’t think so. It’s better than nothing for them, but why not try for more.

Plus, the Pacers only do this for depth and faux-competing. It would be a luxury more than a necessity. I probably wouldn’t trade for any of the Mirotic/Randle/Moore trio, but there is a not terrible argument to be made for acquiring Moore. Anyway, let’s talk about something fun.

I’ve put it off for too long. Anthony Davis isn’t coming to Indy. The other trio of available guys doesn’t make a ton of sense for the Pacers. But there is something that does make sense, and his brother happens to be on the team already.

JRUE!

Look at that man in the Pelicans hat. Look at that very good, under contract for the next 3.5 seasons, one of the best guard defenders in the NBA, basketball player in the Pelicans hat.

Many of you in Pacers fandom grimaced when I suggested the Pacers at least make some attempt at trading for Mike Conley. I get it with Conley, the money isn’t great. He’s old (ish) and injury prone. Okay. Fine.

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Enter Aaron’s older brother Jrue Holiday, who is better than Conley, cheaper, and younger. Best of all, he is a superb fit with Victor Oladipo. That would be the best defensive guard duo in the NBA.

For New Orleans, there is probably a ton of internal debate surrounding Jrue. If you trade Anthony Davis, you are presumably going to be worse for a bit. But if you keep Holiday, you will at least be competent and can ease yourself into the next era without bottoming out. For a small market team that has to be a very strongly considered train of thought.

But on the flip side for the Pels, if you trade Anthony Davis AND Holiday, you could have a TON of assets for a rebuild. If you’re a fan of a team, what is more enticing, a 35-45 win team lead by Jrue Holiday and some good pieces, or a 25-35 win team with a boatload of really intriguing and good pieces?

I can see value in going in either direction for Pelicans GM Dell Demps. Holiday may not be available. That could be the right decision for New Orleans. But if he is, the Indiana Pacers need to be on the phones trying to get him.

J. Holiday is averaging 21.2 points and 8.1 assists per game while playing elite defense. That is a fantastic player. It’s also one that would cost a lot of stuff to get.

The challenge here is finding the right trade. One of the Pacers biggest trade chips is all of their expiring contracts can get a team cap room. Unfortunately for the Pelicans, who will be losing Anthony Davis in the next 5 months, cap room has no value. Nobody good is signing to play for that team.

That means the Indiana Pacers have to give up other meaningful assets to bring in a guy like Jrue. The trouble is that they don’t really have a ton of other assets that are incredibly meaningful sans the ones that are currently a part of the rotation. But that is how trades work. Sometimes you have to give up good, important stuff to get better good, important stuff.

Giving up Domantas Sabonis is a ballsy move here, but it might be required. Turner and Oladipo aren’t going anywhere. TJ Leaf hardly moves the needle. Essentially, you either throw in some high amount of picks or you include Sabonis… or the Pacers Holiday brother.

(Side note – would it be awkward to trade one brother for another? That could be an interesting dynamic at play here).

If you are willing to give up Sabonis for a really good player who fits really well on your team both this season and beyond, you could throw together this package:

You might have to throw in another protected pick. Holiday’s market is hard for me to gauge, but I asked Mason Ginsberg of Bourbon Street Shots what he thought of this deal. Of course, he said it all depends on what direction the Pels take. But given the goodwill created between Jrue and the Pelicans organization, Mason doubts he gets moved unless the offer is “borderline surprisingly high”, which is a sentiment I share.

However, he added that Sabonis is an “intriguing piece”, and acknowledged that it all comes down to what direction the organization takes.

Those other two Pelicans (Williams and Frazier) are in this fake deal because you can’t trade 4 players for 1. Rosters can only have 15 guys. Moving on…

If you aren’t willing to part with Sabonis, then you have to be willing to do one (honestly, maybe more) of the following:

1. Put Aaron Holiday on the table
2. Put multiple 1st-round picks on the table
3. Be willing to take back Solomon Hill’s terrible contract (this almost assuredly couldn’t happen until the summer because matching salaries would be borderline impossible)

I’m not going to make a fake trade for those scenarios. They would be similar to the one above, but a little harder to construct. But Jrue Holiday would be a great get for the Indiana Pacers were he to become available, and doing hard, risky things is sometimes an important team building step.

Until the Anthony Davis domino falls, it is hard to envision what happens in NOLA. But some stuff is going down in the next 150 days in Louisiana. Whether the Indiana Pacers are involved or not is hard to say (or predict), but there are tons of avenues that they could stick their proverbial noses into. Until Anthony Davis is moved, all Pritchard and co. can do it wait. But once it’s time, the Pacers could have an opportunity to pounce.