The Indiana Pacers are still in need of a new starting center following Myles Turner's offseason departure, and the best way for them to get that is by a trade ahead of February's deadline. However, instead of pursuing another big man who can stretch the floor and protect the rim, Indiana might be better off completely changing course and landing someone who can address its rebounding and paint defense needs.
There are a few reasons for this. First, there simply aren't many (if any) centers on the market that can provide what Turner did in Indiana for so long. Replacing Turner and his value was always going to be a challenge for the Pacers, and they're seeing that firsthand this season.
Additionally, while spacing is crucial in Rick Carlisle's system, they have other, more pressing needs at center that a perimeter-centric big may not be able to solve. And given who the Pacers have reportedly expressed interest in so far, it seems that they may be thinking along the same lines.
The Pacers may have to switch things up at center
This season has been all kinds of bad for the Pacers, but there is at least hope they'll turn things around once Tyrese Haliburton comes back next season. However, while his return will provide a huge boost to the team, it won't solve all of their problems, particularly their rebounding and defense in the paint.
According to NBA.com, the Pacers rank 24th in rebounds per game with 42.4 (and ranked dead-last in the month of December with 39.6 RPG), and their 53.6 opponent points in the paint per game rank 27th in the league. If they want to re-establish themselves as title contenders as soon as next season, addressing these problems should be near the top of their priority list.
Fortunately for the Pacers, there are multiple potential trade candidates that would provide them with exactly what they need moving forward.
So far, Indiana has been linked to five big men who are all fantastic in the paint on both sides of the ball: Ivica Zubac, Nic Claxton, Daniel Gafford, Walker Kessler, and Yves Missi. Any of these five would be fantastic additions for the Pacers, even though none of them are floor-spacers.
At this point, it seems pretty obvious that the Pacers need to be active in the trade market if they want a better starting center, and they may even have to make a move ahead of February's trade deadline. But in doing so, they might have to get a little bit out of their comfort zone, which could pay dividends for the long haul.