Victor Oladipo is out, Caris LeVert is in. But what does that mean for the Indiana Pacers?
After off-season rumors about whether or not Victor Oladipo would be staying with the Indiana Pacers long term, the Indiana Pacers have traded Victor Oladipo to the Houston Rockets for Caris LeVert and a second-round pick as part of the blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to Brooklyn.
The nuances of team-building is a very fine art, and a two-time All-Star like Oladipo is not easily replaced. But when a star player shows signs of having eyes for other places in the last year of a deal, a smart front office will not let him walk away for nothing. Not only did Kevin Pritchard not let Oladipo walk for nothing, but he also got a young piece in Caris LeVert that was one of the best returns the Pacers could hope for before the season started.
The most important factor of this trade and something that needs to stand alone is Victor Oladipo was not coming back to the Indiana Pacers after this season.
It hurts to see, we may not want to believe it, but after all of the smoke that came out in the last couple of months, it was clear to people around the team that a trade was more likely than not. Not only was Oladipo wanting to go to a bigger market, but he also was wanting a full max that Indiana would have had a hard time giving him even if he wanted to stay.
The only question marks about the situation were whether or not Oladipo was truly healthy, and what sort of return the Pacers could get for a player with significant injury history on an expiring deal.
Now that we know the return, what impact does Caris LeVert have on this Pacers team on and off the court?
Caris LeVert’s On-Court Impact
26-year-old Caris LeVert in 12 games this season is averaging almost 19 points, five rebounds, six assists, and over a steal per game while mostly playing as the sixth man after the arrival of a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
But in the four games that he has started this year, he has averaged a ridiculous 28.5 points, five rebounds, and over eight assists. While those games were driven by usage that he won’t be able to replicate on the Pacers, it does show the ceiling of what he can offer as a player.
LeVert has switched between SG and SF in his career and is listed at 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, which is two inches more than Oladipo in both measurements. This allows LeVert to more comfortably play SF, which is a massive benefit for a Pacers team that is lacking wing depth, but when the team is healthy will allow him to slide nicely into the Oladipo-sized hole in the starting lineup.
Another aspect of LeVert that will have an immediate impact is as an on-ball creator. His ability to create for himself in isolation and also be a great distributor should help alleviate the creation load on Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis in the half-court. Considering he is coming from a Brooklyn situation where he was asked to be ready to lead the bench unit but also play alongside KD and Kyrie, I think he can be a good fit next to two higher usage players.
There are some negative impacts that jump out immediately as well. LeVert is not a great three-point shooter, which is partially why he is better suited as an on-ball player. He shot a league-average 36% from three last year, but shot just 31% on catch and shoot threes. This could lead to more off-ball opportunities for Brogdon with LeVert as the primary initiator, or a more staggered lineup to always have one of them on the floor at all, but that remains to be seen.
The last on-court impact from the trade is that the Pacers got a worse defensive player. Oladipo is a couple of years removed from his All-Defense nomination, but he was relied on to wreak havoc on the defensive end in a way that few players can match. LeVert is somewhere between average and slightly above average as a defender, and a change to the team’s approach to defense will likely be an ongoing process this season.
Now that we have an idea of what sort of impact LeVert makes on the court, what off the court implications are there after the big trade?
Caris LeVert’s Off-Court Impact
Caris LeVert just turned 26 in August and is in his fifth year in the league as he starts his Indiana Pacers career. As we well know, even a player in his fifth year can blossom into a franchise level player with the right situation, and the Pacers have been that situation recently. I’m not saying that LeVert will take the astronomical leap that Oladipo did in his first year as a Pacer, but it is exciting LeVert still has room to grow as a player.
As far as salary goes, LeVert is under contract for about $17.5 million a year until 2023. This is almost exactly the timeline the rest of the Pacers core. Brogdon, Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Justin Holiday are all under contract until 2023 as well, while T.J. Warren, Jeremy Lamb, Aaron Holiday, and Edmund Sumner will all be up for new deals in 2022. That roster continuity could go a long way to building something special, especially with everyone being in or approaching their prime.
The other important aspect of the deal was that by trading away Oladipo’s $21 million for LeVert’s $16.2 million, they clear about $4.7 million for this year. Not only that, but it saves even more if we consider the possibility of paying Oladipo a max contract next year. LeVert is coming in at almost half the $30 million Oladipo may be looking for while being younger and with a less significant injury history.
Speaking of injury history, even though LeVert hasn’t had the significant injury that Oladipo does, he has missed some games due to injury. In 2018 he missed 41 games with a right foot dislocation, and in 2019 he missed 24 games with ligament damage to his thumb. These injuries aren’t nearly as traumatic as a ruptured quad, and they aren’t related or compounding, but they are still something to be aware of as a core piece of the team.
And last but not least, one of the most important factors that Caris LeVert brings to this Pacers team is that they no longer have a cloud over their head. There are no more question marks about our potential franchise player wanting out, no more concerns about whose team it may be, and no more question marks about what this team may look like in the future.
If we learned anything from the last time the Indiana Pacers traded their star player, the winner of the trade may not be who we think, but in Kevin Pritchard I trust. There are some question marks about fit, but the team ended up getting a great young talent out of a player that was not long for this team. If we put our hearts aside, I don’t think there is any doubt that this is a great deal for the Pacers and should hopefully continue to provide exciting basketball for years to come.