Indiana Pacers: Three trades to revise the Ben Simmons-Malcolm Brogdon swap

The Indiana Pacers go full throttle on defense in star-studded three-team trade

In this three-team trade, the Indiana Pacers acquire Ben Simmons, forward Robert Covington and guard Anfernee Simons, the Philadelphia 76ers obtain All-NBA guard Damian Lillard and Aaron Holiday while the Portland Trail Blazers receive Malcolm Brogdon, All-Star center Domantas Sabonis and guard Tyrese Maxey.

The other side of the Pacers fans spectrum would rather deal Sabonis instead of Turner because of his lack of defense and the withdrawn ceiling of the offense with him as the first option. In this deal, the team doesn’t t only acquire Simmons, a versatile defender who can guard all five positions, but also Covington, who’s among the best help defenders in the league for quite some time. This easily ensures that the Blue and Gold harks back to the team’s defensive identity.

Meanwhile, the 76ers acquire perhaps the best talent next to Embiid with All-NBA point guard Damian Lillard. The superstar, who’s seemingly at odds with the Blazers’ recent moves, patches up a lot of Philly’s problems on offense while maximizing the team’s championship window. With him, Philadelphia essentially boasts two MVP-caliber players of their own.

Lastly, the Trail Blazers may be headed for a striking directional change in the offseason. While an entire reboot is not out of the woods, Portland should attempt to try what they have in their hypothetical cards with Brogdon and especially Sabonis, who’s one of the most gifted offensive centers in the league, next to their remaining core. If not, they can always maximize their value in hopes of getting a haul of draft picks and young players to commence a rebuild.