The primary difficulty the Indiana Pacers have with any new acquisition is not one of assets. The team has three movable first-round picks, decent-sized movable money in the contracts of Obi Toppin, TJ McConnell, and Jarace Walker, and a front office that has feasted in the trade market for the past decade.
No, their larger issue is finding players who are worth such a package that can simultaneously fit into the selfless system the Pacers have built.
It's why the team was clearly so rabid in pursuing Kelly Oubre Jr., a player who they think can fit in perfectly as a three-and-D wing with creation abilities and a continuous motor on defense. Even if there are some concerns over how much the numbers hate his historical fit with stars, there's a lot there to like.
This also extends to Andrew Nembhard, who went from a second-round pick out of Gonzaga to a key player on a team that made it to the Finals. The primary reason that Nembhard was able to vault up the rotation so quickly was because of his fit alongside Tyrese Haliburton, specifically the way he could turn his scoring focus off and on as needed.
Any star brought into the Pacers organization would have to be able to do the same.
Putting in work to make it work
The most impressive thing about Nembhard is not his shooting, his defense, or the efficacy of his shoulder bump (seriously, go watch that commercial if you haven't yet), it's his mindset.
The Canadian guard can transition between an on-ball lead guard and an off-ball two guard at the drop of a hat. It's this very ability that makes him such an ideal fit for this team. He is so many things all at once: a scorer off the bench and a prototypical complementary wing.
It's this way of prioritizing and deprioritizing himself that makes him such a good fit for the Pacers, who demand that of everyone.
Maybe it flows from the top down, with Tyrese Haliburton setting the standard. Despite having all the makeup of a heliocentric creator, Haliburton has never demanded enough usage to reach that statistical pedigree. His numbers come within the flow of a team.
It's the combination of both of these players that the Pacers should be looking for on the trade market. Can Trey Murphy III fit into being a glorified spot-up shooter for 20 minutes a game after spending the past two seasons as the top offensive option? Is Ty Jerome willing to step back into the low-usage role he had on the Cleveland Cavaliers, the one that got him paid?
The NBA does not have a shortage of good players, but the Pacers' standards are set at such a high level that it's still hard to find anyone worth moving for.
They exist, but Indiana will have to search high and low to find them.
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