The Indiana Pacers underwent major reconstructive surgery this summer, and the finished product looks much different from last season.
When this coming season finally tips off, the Indiana Pacers will be a very new feeling team with 7 key players departing and (so far) 6 new faces to get used to. Allow us to introduce you to these incoming players.
T.J. Warren
The Pacers are a savvy, well-run organization that knows they’re not a big-time free agency destination. They know they need to make smart moves where they can and leverage their assets and cap space to get good players in trades. The Phoenix Suns are, well, not that.
A few hours before the 2019 NBA draft, news broke that the Pacers had traded for TJ Warren, a 25-year-old wing averaging 18 points a game for the Suns. A nice pickup for the Pacers, but the question on every fan’s mind was “what did we give up?”
The deal said the 32nd pick in the draft was also traded. Wait a minute. The Pacers didn’t even have the 32nd pick. Friends, that is because the Suns sent Warren AND the 32nd pick to the Pacers in exchange for cash considerations. For the uninitiated, that means the Suns traded a promising young player and an early second round pick for nothing. $1.1 million that the Pacers did not need.
This was grand larceny on the part of Kevin Pritchard and his staff. The Suns wanted the cap space to sign free agents (they ended up signing basically no one of value, oof), but even then, the Pacers got a starter and a pick for nothing.
As for Warren himself, he will slot in as the starting small forward, replacing Bojan Bogdanovic. He averaged a stat line of 18.0/4.0/1.5 last year and brings a scoring punch the Pacers desperately needed. His defense has never been great, but he has the physical tools to be a solid defender and to defend most wing players.
If coach Nate McMillan can get him to buy in, he should be a solid piece of the starting rotation for years to come, especially with Vic out until around Christmas. He is also on a very team-friendly contract, a nice cherry on top.