The Indiana Pacers should consider making moves at the deadline

The NBA trade deadline is quickly approaching as teams have just about two weeks to make any moves. The Indiana Pacers, who have had quite the rollercoaster of a season, should be active in talks at this year’s deadline.

Indiana was gifted Caris LeVert just in time to see how he may fit with the current roster and into the rotation, which included him starting in his Pacers debut. That moved Doug McDermott back to the bench and will do the same to Justin Holiday once T.J. Warren returns.

Should the Indiana Pacers be active at the trade deadline?

The bench will soon feature a logjam of offensive threats with Doug McDermott, Justin Holiday, and Jeremy Lamb all fighting for the wing minutes. Mix in the competition between T.J. McConnell and Aaron Holiday for the backup guard time and the Pacers have a lot of lingering questions.

Aaron Holiday has played much better over the past few weeks as he tries to earn some trust for the playoffs. The only downside to having so much depth in the backcourt is that the Pacers lack that depth from their bigs and don’t have any wing defenders. That said, they need to at least consider swapping some of their offensive talent and draft picks to acquire help at other areas of need.

There are plenty of targets that should spark interest from the Pacers. One player that I really want to see back in Indiana is Thaddeus Young, a key rotation piece for the Chicago Bulls who has been a staple of NBA rosters for quite some time. It would also be a cool story to see Young play with LeVert in Indiana after the trade that landed Young in Indiana the first time was the first-round pick that was used on LeVert.

Young can be the backup four while giving some defensive help to a unit that desperately needs it. The Pacers could also look at New Orleans’ Josh Hart as a three-and-D option that would help their perimeter defense. Hart’s cost may be more than Indiana is willing to offer but he is definitely an intriguing option.

As far as what Indiana could send away in any possible trade, Jeremy Lamb seems to be the popular option. He is a veteran scorer but has really struggled to find consistency with Indiana. After recovering from an injury, he has been up and down this season and has a pretty sizeable price tag for next season at $10.5 million.

Aaron Holiday and Doug McDermott are both options to be shipped away as well. Holiday may offer some upside as a combo guard for a rebuilding team while McDermott could be a veteran leader for a contender right now. It’s just a matter of whether the Pacers want to buy or sell when that time comes.