Potential Pacers trade bait with Buddy Hield and Obi Toppin on deadline day
By Mueez Azfar
Potential trade returns
It is very important to note what Indiana would be looking for in a potential Hield/Toppin return. With the first nine players of Indiana's playoff rotation being set in stone as some combination of Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam, Turner, McConnell, Mathurin, Jalen Smith, and Isaiah Jackson, there is one spot left.
While Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker have shown plenty of upside this season, they are just rookies at the end of the day, and it is very unlikely they get playoff run outside of the occassional garbage time minutes.
Indiana will be looking for a 3&D wing player this deadline if they do make a move, with the likes of Matisse Thybulle and Alex Caruso being discussed among fans as a good return. Chief among the return targets are Andrew Wiggins and Isaac Okoro, although the size of Wiggins' contract and the value Okoro brings to the Cavaliers more or less make those talks doubtful as well.
Whether the Pacers stand pat at the deadline and pray Hield gets back into his groove or they cut their losses and trade his expiring contract for a more consistent player on both ends is a question for anyone to answer.
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Perhaps by the time you're reading this, the trade has already been done, and Indiana has found their backup swingman for the playoffs alongside Mathurin. Either way, this has still been a trade season to remember for the Indiana Pacers, as nobody can take away the Pascal Siakam acquisition from them.