The Indiana Pacers decided to move towards a rebuild after the NBA trade deadline. They traded for Tyrese Haliburton who looks to be the team’s new face of the franchise.
After making a trade to send away a two-time All-Star in Domantas Sabonis, it is clear that the Pacers want to remodel their roster and it looks to be centered around Haliburton.
With the addition of another point guard at the deadline and Malcolm Brogdon’s injury history, could the Indiana Pacers look to move him for some other interesting assets?
Brett Sigel of Sports Illustrated shared his thoughts on the Malcolm Brogdon situation, based on what he has heard around the league.
"“Have heard some rumblings about the Wizards showing trade interest in Pacers’ Malcolm Brogdon. Washington is looking to add an experienced guard in their backcourt next to Bradley Beal this offseason and Brogdon is under contract through the 2024-25 season as a two-way guard”"
Now the Wizards are interesting because they have the 10th overall pick in this upcoming draft. The Pacers have been vocal about being aggressive to get their guy whether that is moving up or down, but what if they can get two top 10 picks?
Trading Brogdon for a rotation player along with pick No.10 doesn’t sound like bad value and it would make up for the lottery pick that the Indiana Pacers didn’t get to use from Cleveland this season. You can see the intrigue, but both teams would have to wiggle to make it work.
Moving on from Brogdon would allow the reigns to be lifted from Haliburton and would essentially be the franchise telling him that this is his team.
If the Pacers get No. 10 by trading Brogdon, I dont see the possibility to trade Buddy Hield, No. 6, and No. 31 to move into the top four in this draft. You can’t trade Hield back to the Kings, OKC isn’t in need of a shooting guard, and the Rockets need size as well. You could make an argument for sending a package like that to Detroit, but I dont think that is worth moving up just one spot.
Indiana fans have shown a liking to lottery prospect Ben Mathurin recently, and they also have an affinity for Purdue’s Jaden Ivey. Is this a path for them to land both?
Betting on Mathurin falling to No. 10 is a longshot in my opinion, but it isn’t impossible when you factor the needs of other teams into the mix. Ivey might also be taken before No. 6, but I see Mathuring going in the 8-10 range unless a team really likes him. Portland would like AJ Griffin, but I think the Pelicans would welcome Mathurin and they pick 8th overall. Anything is possible.
If you trade Brogdon to Washington, the Pacers could land the 6th and 10th pick in this draft.
The flipside of the coin is trying to trade Brogdon to the Kings to move up to the 4th spot in this draft, which I think is also possible. Selecting both No. 4 and No. 6 would be a dream, but I don’t see moving up without including that pick.
You can see why Washington would want to make this deal.
Bradley Beal is nearing 30 years old and adding Brogdon who can be an All-Star caliber player when healthy next to him would make the Wizards better. His impact would be much more immediate than pick No. 10.
I spoke with the Pacers’ assistant coach Jenny Boucek last week to ask about the young players like Tyrese Haliburton, and she had high praise, to say the least.
"“When you have a core player like Haliburton, you are hoping to build around him and his strengths. When your best players are complementary, that’s when you start to develop a firm identity which I believe you need to have to attain success in this league. You can’t be good at some things and not great at anything and you don’t really know who you are and what is going to separate you from other teams.”"
Brogdon is now 30 and is on the wrong side of his injury history. You can see the clear path where Haliburton expands his game as the sole point guard of this team and in crunch time, he has the ball in his hands instead of Brogdon.
Since joining the Indiana Pacers, Brogdon averages 18.9 points a game, 6.3 assists, and 5 rebounds. Bradley Beal himself has not played more than 60 games in the last three seasons in Washington. Having another go-to guard with him would significantly improve the Wizards, but also allow Brogdon to be off-ball as well which is where he thrives.
I think this trade idea is interesting and Brogdon’s name will be thrown out a ton in trade rumors this offseason. He signed a 2 year $45 million contract extension with Indiana last offseason and was not able to be traded until after this past trade deadline.
I think the trade possibility is certainly higher now that Tyrese Haliburton is in town, and the Indiana Pacers have shown that they aren’t afraid to move any pieces to better the franchise.