How the Pacers could approach the trade deadline without Victor Oladipo

The Pacers act as buyers

Look at those two fantastic point guards, both number 11, and both great theoretical fits in Indiana.

One (Mike Conley) is for sure available, although the Pacers interest appears to be gone with the loss of Oladipo. The other (Jrue Holiday) may not be. But those are just two of the players that the Pacers could go after were they to be buyers.

I wrote trade columns for both guys. They would both help the team win the rest of this season AND would be helpful when Vic returns. You can read about the potential trades here and here.

That’s the general, but not the exclusive, idea behind the buying strategy. Who can the Pacers go get that helps them this season AND when Victor Oladipo returns next season? Those are the guys that make a lot of sense to target since the Pacers have already banked 30+ wins.

If you’re going to be buyers, the best place to look is crappy teams with good players. Conley is an example. So are all the rest of the decent players on the Grizzlies.

Garrett Temple would add depth at the shooting guard position but would probably only cost 2 2nd round picks. Jamychal Green would add some stability and skill at the backup power forward position, though TJ Leaf has been playing better of late. Neither of those guys is a bad fit, and neither would cost a whole ton.

The trouble is that they are both expiring contracts, which are a risky gamble without Oladipo. Do the Pacers really want to dish out assets for a guy who doesn’t make the team appreciably better and that could leave in 5 months? Probably not.

The same tale exists with the Pelicans guys. Nikola Mirotic, Julius Randle, and E’Twuan Moore are all available, per reports. The latter would probably only cost a second while the first two would cost a first. Salary wise, only Randle or Moore could be gotten without the Pacers themselves given up a rotation piece. It’s almost certainly not worth buying their expiring deals.

Let’s find a buyer deal that makes sense. Hey, remember that Taurean Prince trade? The Pacers could just “buy” him instead of looping in Philly. That would allow the team to get Prince without giving up anyone in the rotation.

This would satisfy the Hawks desire to get a young player and a first for Prince and is close to a fair price. I discussed this deal with Jeff Siegel, a Hawks guru, and he thinks the value is close. I like it.

This next idea is inspired by… my own desires. Anthony Tolliver of the Timberwolves is a guy I really like, and after the Jimmy Butler trade, he has been out of the rotation. He has played recently thanks to injuries, but guys on an expiring contract out of the rotation are almost always available.

Tolliver would help the Pacers second unit, and O’Quinn and a 2nd are both mostly expendable. I talked to Wolves expert Tim Taklis about this deal, and he said… well, he pretty much said it would be hard for this happen. Tolliver is very important for the Wolves depth and their GM situation is in limbo. But I think it’s a solidly logically trade and I can dream, so I’m including it.

You can cut me off — I just contradicted myself. Tolliver is an expiring deal, which doesn’t make a ton of sense to go get. He would only slightly improve the team while Vic is gone, and he would cost an asset.

But I’m making an exception for a great fit. His non-bird rights would make it easy to resign him while being over the cap next summer. He’s a stretch 4, something Kevin Pritchard covets. Plus, he is a great vet who would have a positive impact on the young players who would remain on the team going into next season. That has some long term value. This isn’t the normal blueprint for a post-Vic injury trade, but I still like it.

A final connection I like is with the Heat. Miami is a tax team with a lot of good players, but they have a bad record. They could easily sell off a number of guys. The one I like for Indiana is Rodney McGruder.

McGruder is on a minimum contract, meaning the Pacers could just take him in without sending out any salary. I asked a Heat writer, Wes Goldberg, what the price for McGruder would be and he said a late first round pick. I wouldn’t give up that for him, so I got creative instead.

The Pacers get McGruder, and he will be a restricted free agent in a few months so they will easily be able to keep him. The second round pick (2025 is the earliest one the Heat can trade, amazingly) makes it easier to stomach giving up a first round pick. I like it, and I like that it’s easy to keep McGruder since he will be a restricted free agent.

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When you think of the buying route, you think of the big names. There’s Kemba Walker. There is also Bradley Beal. Those guys come to mind for most people when you say “buyers”. But the same people who want to trade for those guys wouldn’t give up what it would take (pretty much anything but Oladipo) to get them, which is hilarious. I don’t think either of those guys is available barring a monster offer, but technically the Pacers could offer tons of assets and get one of them. I don’t think Indy is in a place to do that, though. Only Beal makes any sense since he is under contract for tons of years, but be prepared to part with Sabonis, Turner, Holiday, and draft assets to get him. It would be shocking to me to see that happen. Kemba could leave in a few months, which is too risky when he probably wouldn’t get you out of the first round. There just isn’t a smart trade for either of these guys.

Also, in terms of buying, the Pacers could add a guy on the buyout market after the trade deadline. Wes Matthews could be available, for example. Convincing those guys to come to play in Indy is the only hurdle, but you don’t have to give up anything for them which is nice. That doesn’t help the team when Vic returns, but it is a way to add talent to the team at no cost of assets, just ownership money.

Buying is sexy and fun. Getting a star under contract next year means the team is better when Victor Oladipo returns. There are cap space related opportunity costs, but getting a good player is often worth it.

The final strategy that the Indiana Pacers could execute at the deadline is not really a strategy so much as a unity move. They could just stand pat, which has a ton of benevolence to it. Let’s break it down. Back to the whiteboard.