Does This Trade Make Sense For The Indiana Pacers?
Seeing as they are in 4th place in the Eastern Conference right now without both TJ Warren and Caris LeVert, it seems likely that the Pacers will hold off on trading away any of their core players, but this trade actually brings them a fair amount of value that could help them win games now and in the future.
There have been plenty of talks over the months about the Pacers possibly exploring the idea of trading Turner and with all of the uncertainty about his future this past offseason, it would make a lot of sense for them to trade him now for Tyler Herro, Kelly Olynyk and a future first-round pick.
Indiana is in a position as a franchise, when fully healthy, to compete in the Eastern Conference and they have a lot of underrated, All-Star caliber talent. Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis both are having All-Star seasons and were excluded from participating in this year’s All-Star game.
With these two playing the best basketball of their careers, TJ Warren hopefully returning by the end of the season and the addition of two key role players in Herro and Olynyk, the Pacers would have the star-power and the depth on their roster to compete with the likes of the 76ers, Nets and Bucks in the East.
Each of the last five seasons, the Pacers have made the playoffs, but have lost in the first-round because of their lack of weapons. By making this trade, they may take a hit defensively, but they should get better offensively since Herro and Olynyk are both high-level perimeter threats.
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This team has no financial flexibility right now and while they do have draft picks through the years, those will not help them win immediately. Indiana has struggled in the playoffs through the years and if they do not make it out of the first-round this year, this roster could be completely torn apart and rebuilt.
It makes more sense now for them to trade Turner while they can get a great trade package in return for him, rather than trying to unload him next offseason when teams may not be too keen on trading for him.
