Indiana Pacers: Analyzing B/R’s trade proposal sending Sabonis to the Kings

Should the Indiana Pacers be warm to this trade proposal?

Without considering prospective offers that can arise later on, this proposed deal is okay and verges more on acceptable than a relative fleece. It’s far from an eye-opening deal that makes you scream on the affirmative, but the main pillars and the rationale of this proposal make a lot of sense for both the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings.

On the flip side, this specific trade proposal can still be better since the Pacers can get more draft compensation for their prized big man, especially with precedents for the same occurring as recently as the last trade deadline when Orlando managed to scoop up valuable draft picks for Nikola Vucevic. Also, Sabonis is a lot younger than the former Magic center, meaning that Indiana can receive more if they maximize his value.

Still, putting Domantas Sabonis on the trade block should attract more lucrative returns than what the Kings can conjure. Despite his defensive miscues and his skillset being more complex to integrate on a team, he’s one of the better centers in the NBA whose all-around versatility as an offensive force is matched by only few players at his position.

The uncertain cloud here, however, arrives on whether the Pacers can realistically attain a better offer for Sabonis, not just in theory. With the ever-growing importance of two-way big men, the market may be staler than what Indiana expects from their All-Star big man, even if a lot of teams will surely field their own offers.

Thus, if offers form him indeed becomes more run-of-the-mill than no-brainers, the Indiana Pacers could do a lot worse than this trade proposal, especially if the Kings take their bid up a notch by adding more assets, even if the Blue and Gold similarly needs to expand the deal.