The Indiana Pacers are currently 9-31 and own the second-worst record in the NBA. Naturally, teams near the bottom of the league standings wouldn't be buyers. However, Bryce Simon of the "Game Theory Podcast" thinks the Pacers should buy a center at the deadline to keep building the roster around Tyrese Haliburton for when he returns next season.
"I am truly interested to see what [the Pacers] do at the deadline. ... I wonder why they would not potentially be in the center market at this deadline," Simon said.
Should the Pacers trade for a center?
It's no secret that the Pacers are in need of an upgrade at center following Myles Turner's departure last offseason.
Jay Huff has been fine for the most part, but it would be incredibly tough for Indiana to trust him in a playoff series. This is especially true given how inconsistent he has been this season.
This season has been a nightmare for the Pacers, but they still have a bright future. They were just one win away from an NBA Championship. And given that they are in an Eastern Conference that still looks to be wide-open, they should be able to re-establish themselves as potential title contenders as soon as Haliburton returns.
However, while its future is bright, this doesn't mean that Indiana should be satisfied with its roster. This especially pertains to its center situation.
The Pacers should absolutely acquire a new starting center. But whether that should be via a trade this season or a move in the offseason is a different question.
On one hand, the Pacers have an enticing trade piece in Bennedict Mathurin. He is going to hit restricted free agency this summer and should be appealing to many teams around the league as a young, score-first wing. Indiana might be better off just keeping him around, but if it's serious about landing a new starting center, trading the Canadian native is probably inevitable.
Mathurin is an asset that not many other teams can match, and it might help the Pacers win any type of bidding war.
However, the Pacers may also benefit from just waiting until the offseason to make a decision. The center market should be much more robust by that point as players like Isaiah Hartenstein (team option), Nikola Vucevic, Mitchell Robinson, and Mo Wagner could all be in free agency.
Plus, they are much more likely to trade for a center in the offseason when every team around the league resets and retools for the following season.
So what should the Pacers do? Ultimately, they may be better off just keeping Mathurin around past this season and just re-evaluating in the summer. Chances are that anybody who is available now will probably be available in the offseason as well, and trading the Arizona alum (especially when his value is lower right now due to his contract status) is way too risky for them to do.
Indiana absolutely needs a new big man, and exploring options ahead of February's trade deadline is absolutely the right call. But should they actually pull the trigger on such a move? At this stage, probably not.