How Could A Trade Work For The Indiana Pacers?
Trading for Ben Simmons definitely ups up a lot of possibilities for the Pacers to rise up in the Eastern Conference, especially since he would take an enormous amount of pressure off of Domantas Sabonis to do everything for this team. You can probably throw Malcolm Brogdon into this equation as well in terms of having to do everything for the Pacers, but he could be a player going to Philadelphia in return for Simmons.
What this trade package would end up looking like is very questionable because the Pacers do have a lot of moveable contracts and some key, valuable players. Malcolm Brogdon ($21.7M), Myles Turner ($17.5M), Caris LeVert ($17.5M), T.J. Warren ($12.6M), and Jeremy Lamb are all players who could be moved in a deal to acquire Simmons and all of their contracts would work financially in a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
If they were to send out a deal involving LeVert and Warren, plus some draft compensation, the Pacers would suddenly have one of the better defensive groups in the entire league with Simmons, Brogdon, and Turner, three All-Defensive Team worthy players when they are 100%.
Offensively, they would take a hit in terms of scoring output, but at the same time, Ben Simmons is a really crafty and athletic ball-handler who could create a lot of space for some shooters on the Pacers roster like Malcolm Brogdon, Justin Holiday, and rookie Chris Duarte. Having Ben Simmons, Domantas Sabonis, and Myles Turner on the court would create one of the tallest trios in the league, making the Pacers tough to stop in the paint and on the glass as well.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ben Simmons’ Main Goal With Trade Is To Be No. 1 Option
A three-team or four-team deal is also another way for the Pacers to possibly land Ben Simmons, especially if they are willing to move Myles Turner in this deal. Plenty of teams have expressed interest in Turner through the years, but Indiana has be unwilling to trade him to this point.
Moving him now and bringing in Simmons to play the power-forward position would allow the Pacers to move Sabonis to center and open things up in terms of putting more athletic wings on the court for scoring purposes.
The options are endless for the Pacers, especially since they do have so many moveable and somewhat valuable contracts. Brogdon, LeVert, Warren, and Turner are all above-average players and have all shown flashes of All-Star-like potential at times in their careers.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Ben Simmons’ Main Goal With Trade Is To Be No. 1 Option
Depending on what the Philadelphia 76ers want will sway a potential trade package one way or the other, but all-in-all, it is not crazy to believe that Kevin Pritchard and the Indiana Pacers look at potentially trading for Ben Simmons if his holdout continues into the first few weeks of the regular season.
