Indiana Pacers: Re-grading the T.J. Warren draft night trade

The Indiana Pacers fleeced the Phoenix Suns this summer in a trade that landed them T.J. Warren. Here’s a look back and a re-grade on it.

During the 2019 NBA Draft, the Indiana Pacers were extremely active. Not only did they add a piece to their future with the selection of Goga Bitadze at 18 overall, but they also completed a trade with a few moving parts that would ultimately land them T.J. Warren.

The Pacers would go on to add T.J. McConnell, further stockpiling their holding of NBA players named T.J. over the summer, but Warren has had the greatest impact on the team this season of all the T.J.s.

Warren’s two-way abilities were known when the trade was made, and his performance throughout the year has certainly justified what the Pacers sent out.

Let’s take a look at the trade itself to start.

As you can see, the Pacers sent out just cash in order to secure Warren and two second-round picks. The Suns also agreed to send the Pacers the 32nd pick in the draft, which was ultimately sent to the Heat (Okpala was taken at that position) in return for two future seconds.

So, if you follow the entire trade, the Pacers sent cash to the Suns. In return, they got a player and a second-round pick. The Pacers turned that second-round pick into two future second-round picks. All with just cash.

While second-round picks aren’t earth-shattering, having as many of them as possible can be advantageous, and there is extreme flexibility in how the front office chooses to use them. They can provide filler to get trades done or help teams pick up fringe talent that is willing to work hard to prove their spot in the league.

Oftentimes, players have every incentive to bust their butts when drafted as a second-rounder because the salary and contract guarantees for second-round picks is far lower than that of first-round picks (which also provides cap space flexibility for the front office).

The Pacers have been willing to send out money to teams in need of it in trades like this previously, a display of what ownership is willing to do to get the job done. This, however, was one of the most lopsided cash trades in NBA history.

Warren could have yielded a significant return, especially paired with a second-round pick. Prior to the trade, Warren averaged 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game for the Suns in 2018-19.

Had he matched those numbers alone, this trade would have been a huge win for Phoenix. His scoring has improved slightly and his rebounds and assists leveled or went down just slightly. His fit into the Pacers system provided him a more natural shot selection and boosted his efficiency. While he’s taking the same amount of field goals as he did last season in Phoenix, his 3-point attempts are making up a smaller percentage of that and his field goal percentage has gone from 486 percent to 52.9 percent as a result.

Warren’s ability as a two-way player has improved as well. In Phoenix, he was the eighth-best player in terms of DBPM that had logged greater than 500 total minutes on the roster. In Indiana, he’s the sixth-highest with that same qualifier.

Warren has had an impact on a two-way basis. He’s helped shut players like Devin Booker down and provided a fire to this team that has given it life, despite this season’s excitement being somewhat tempered by a lack of Victor Oladipo until just recently. He has the team’s third-highest PER behind Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon and is arguably the team’s third or fourth-best player this season.

So, there we have it. This was a fleece for the Pacers and Kevin Pritchard. We’ll see what magic the front office is able to pull off next!