Indiana Pacers are perfect fit for reported Golden State Warriors trade

The Indiana Pacers are reportedly looking at being aggressive during this draft season regarding either moving off of picks or bringing in talent. The Golden State Warriors have an excess of talent at certain position, making them an ideal candidate for trading with.

The Golden State Warriors will want to maximize the prime years of their superstar talent in Steph Curry and supporting cast members such as Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Because of this, some players get relegated to the bench to not be developed as they properly should. This spells opportunity for the Pacers who need to capitalize on situations like this and have in the past (see Jordan Nwora and Jalen Smith).

The Warriors are reportedly looking at deals to offload some of their younger talent, that they don’t have the bandwidth to develop, and as it turns out, the Pacers are likely an ideal trading partner for a situation such as this. They have a higher lottery pick that the Warriors could use, while the Pacers are in need of young players to add to their developing core.

So who on the roster would make sense for the Pacers to go after?

Jonathan Kuminga is reportedly who the Golden State Warriors are currently shopping.

And this makes sense, Kuminga is a talented young power forward who is not getting the minutes he needs to develop given that he plays behind Draymond Green on the roster, one of the best power forwards in the league. But many believe the Kuminga has serious potential.

And many reputable sources around the league seem to indicate that this is exactly who the Warriors are shopping for a higher draft pick. Including ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo who write that:

"“The appetite for taking on more projects will likely be limited due to their narrow window for maximizing the prime of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and others. Sources tell ESPN the Warriors are also exploring the option of acquiring a high draft pick in exchange for a young prospect such as Jonathan Kuminga.”"

And while some draft picks such as Portland’s and Charlotte’s may be more enticing, it will also take much more than Kuminga to pry those picks away from those franchises. However, Kuminga may fall perfectly in the tradable range for the current Pacers situation.

Pacers trade down in the draft to make room for a talented power forward.

To bring in players it will always cost. But Kuminga perfectly fits many of the needs of the current Indiana Pacers roster. So what could be done? Here is a proposed trade from the Pacers twitter community that seems to be gaining traction in popularity:

Of course, this would require the Pacers to add some salary filler back to the Warriors to make the numbers work correctly, but that is the basic framework for the proposed trade. And it appears that some Pacers fans are very much for this trade, excited for the potential Kuminga could bring:

While others feels that it is a risk that is far too high to compromise the current rebuild of the team and trajectory:

At @8pts9secs we have our own thoughts on whether or not this would be a good trade idea for the Pacers and their future trajectory.

This trade would be an excellent fit for the Pacers but would certainly have risk.

Does this trade have value for the Pacers? Absolutely it does. Kuminga has some impressive highlights and can only grow from where he is at. He isn’t getting enough playing time in Golden State whereas he would probably start for the Pacers tomorrow.

The value of this trade largely depends on how you value the players that will be available at seven, namely Jarace Walker and Taylor Hendricks. Both have high upside, but of course, there is risk in playing them over Kuminga. With Kuminga you have more of a known NBA commodity than you do with either of those prospects.

Of course, Kuminga is about to get more expensive which is the obvious downside, whereas Walker/Hendricks would be much cheaper for years to come. A good player on a rookie contract is an amazing asset in the NBA. Especially when they have multiple years left.

Our thoughts on the trade?

We would grade this trade at a B for the Pacers given the proven upside of Kuminga but also the risk of losing a generational talent in the draft.