An early rebuttal to the silly Russell Westbrook to Indiana Pacers noise

The Indiana Pacers can get more value for Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield and should not settle for Russell Westbrook

This may be a no sheesh, Sherlock statement, but the Indiana Pacers view both Malcolm Brogdon and Buddy Hield as valuable assets that they could use to add to their collection of young players and draft capital in case of a trade. Packaging both of them to get draft picks from far beyond is malpractice, considering the marginal value that Russell Westbrook adds through his expiring contract as the present return.

Indiana has repeatedly made its plans to return to competitiveness as soon as possible very clear, withholding some impetus for the front office to make an urgent deal involving one of them. Even if they do pull the trigger, packaging them on their own is more than enough for them to acquire at least a first-rounder and  a young player in return.

Combine them both? Then you could be looking at a grounded attempt to be more ambitious and be on the lookout for upper echelon stars in the league who could be pegged as flight risks (ahem, Donovan Mitchell).

Oh, and what is behind this utmost confidence for the Pacers front office? Look no further than Kevin Pritchard and Chad Buchanan, who have executed some of the savviest trades in recent seasons which enabled the team to rebound from abrupt departures. Remember the Paul George trade? How about the Caris LeVert one that saved them from the sinking ship of Victor Oladipo? Or the ceiling-raiser that was the Tyrese Haliburton trade?

Love them or hate them, but the Indiana Pacers, delay notwithstanding, have been one of the smartest teams on the transaction panels. Safe to say, they certainly will be smart enough to exorcize the temptation that is Russell Westbrook and the Lakers.

P.S. Dear major media outlets, stop making small market teams the perfect antidote to the anguish of their big market counterparts.