Last season, the Indiana Pacers made an uncharacteristic midseason swing. Following a string of reports regarding two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo‘s desire to move on from the Circle City, which was further bolstered by him rejecting a max extension, the front office forced their way into the trade market, receiving Caris LeVert as his heir apparent.
As part of an exhaustive four-team deal with superstar James Harden at the crux of the trade engine, the Pacers managed to fly under the radar as one of the deal’s undisputed winners. While the Brooklyn Nets are justifiably front and center by snagging another marquee player to complete their terrific Big Three, receiving a fringe All-Star player and draft compensation in return for their disgruntled All-Star’s expiring deal is a huge win for Indiana.
The Indiana Pacers struck gold with Caris LeVert in last season’s blockbuster trade
However, in true Indianapolis fashion, LeVert’s early foray donning the Blue and Gold was as mortifying as it could be. After all, the 27-year-old, who was entering his prime, had a cancerous mass detected in his physical, casting a cloud over the team’s future and more importantly, his own career. Fortunately, LeVert managed to return to court after a couple of months and finished the campaign with a career-high in scoring.
Entering next season, LeVert will be banked on to carry a significant role on the team. His scoring, playmaking and improved defense will all be critical as the Indiana Pacers attempt to mount a competitive bid in the ever-improving East. In view of the above, we regrade the four-team trade which brought him to the Circle City last season.
Indiana Pacers: How did the Nets fare in last season’s blockbuster trade
Sans any dilly-dallying, let’s put it this way: the Brooklyn Nets, already spearheaded by Kevin Durant, the best scorer in the world and perennial All-Star Kyrie Irving, amplified their already prolific offense with James Harden, one of the best one-on-one scorers and playmakers in history.
That statement alone carries sheer terror to the rest of the league. The price to get Harden, of course, was lofty, with Brooklyn parting with Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Taurean Prince and Rodions Kurucs, three first-round draft picks and four first-round draft swaps with Houston. Still, the Nets striking on the blazing (and obvious) iron is more than worth it.
While the Nets failed to win the title this year, as their stars’ healthy stretches never really aligned enough, they are easily the best team in the league at full strength. With a projected full season of Durant, Irving and Harden together, Brooklyn will be a nightmare for opponents on a nightly basis as inarguable title favorites.
Grade: A
Indiana Pacers: How did the Cavaliers fare in last season’s blockbuster trade
Cleveland dangled away a first-round pick from Milwaukee, obviously not as lustrous as it seems and a journeyman salary filler in Dante Exum. One might surmise that the Cavaliers probably didn’t get much in return. Guess what? In return, they acquired Jarrett Allen, a young center who’s among the league’s best rim protectors and a serviceable 3-and-D cog in Taurean Prince.
Rebuilding teams are understandably conservative in handing out draft picks, but Cleveland understood that Milwaukee’s pick isn’t worth much and were rewarded for believing that first-rounders are, more often that not, more valuable in theory than in practice. Netting a future for their center in Allen is a genius move for a franchise littered with questionable moves in recent years.
While the Cavs may have erred in overpaying to keep Allen in the offseason amidst drafting Evan Mobley on top of a cornucopia of big men in the roster, for what they gave up in return, you’d be hard pressed to find anything savvier than what Cleveland did.
Grade: A+
Indiana Pacers: How did the Rockets fare in last season’s blockbuster trade
No one’s holding a pity party for the Rockets right now. After an excellent draft, Houston has now accelerated its abrupt rebuild as quickly as possible, possibly discarding some years of supposed tanking with their new acquisitions. This is great, considering how they arguably could’ve done better in their grand plan to shuttle James Harden away from Texas.
The voluminous draft picks they’ve acquired in return are not the most valuable considering the position they’re most likely gonna end up in, but their questionable gamble with Victor Oladipo, whom they subsequently traded for, well, not much, raised a lot of eyebrows. In the realm of the “should’ve beens”, they probably have a lot of things jotted down in relative regret.
Fortunately for them, their great maneuvers in the NBA Draft basically dispelled most hypotheticals in the context of the Harden trade. Eventually, what many could and probably should take away from this deal on Houston’s part and to their biggest advantage was their pivot to rebuild itself.
Grade: B
How did the Indiana Pacers fare in last season’s blockbuster trade
After franchise star Victor Oladipo outright rejected a maximum extension from the Indiana Pacers last season, a lot of people were perplexed. While he was dealing with some self-inflicted rounds of alleged non-committal to the team, which eventually turned out to be true, he was fresh off an All-Star status-threatening injury. To get such offer from a conservative small-market is no easy undertaking.
With contractual limbo imminent between him and the Pacers, the front office expertly did the right thing and dangled him away to extract some value in return. And that value turned out to be more than a pacifier, with Caris LeVert, whom Indy acquired in return, effectively replacing Oladipo’s role as the team’s prototypical two-way shooting guard, while sweeteners came in the form of two second-rounders for future flexibility and of course, cash considerations.
LeVert’s tenure started off in a cloud of horror, but with him now fully healthy, the Indiana Pacers can properly claim that they’re one of the biggest winners in last season’s landmark and blockbuster deal, especially with Oladipo struggling with an assortment of injuries in the present (get well soon, VO!).
Grade: A+