Paul George had the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2013 and 2014, but unfortunately for this franchise, that is the last time they have been relevant in the Eastern Conference. While they did make the playoffs for five straight seasons from 2016-2020, the Pacers have struggled to stay healthy and may be an NBA franchise heading towards a full-scale rebuild.
On Tuesday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Pacers are moving towards a rebuilding process and are going to be receptive to trade talks centered on Caris LeVert and either Domantas Sabonis or Myles Turner.
Over the years, Indiana has expended multiple resources and assets into putting their core of Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, T.J. Warren, Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner together, but the problem is that they all have not been healthy and these five guys have never played together at the same time on the floor!
While injuries have definitely played a role in the demise of this franchise, they just simply do not have the right personnel on this roster and the Indiana Pacers’ management really has not done anything to try and help this team be better on the floor.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Teams To Watch For In Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis Trade Talks
Between mishandling contracts to not making any trades over the years to add more secondary talent, all of the moves that the Pacers have not made have led them to this point where they now stare down a rebuild right in the face.
What moves the Indiana Pacers will make are yet to be seen, as they are continuing to monitor their situation on the floor, as well as field trade calls from teams across the NBA, but Domantas Sabonis is going to be the player most teams inquire about.
The 2x All-Star is under contract through the 2023-24 season and only making an average of $18.8M per season, he is an extremely affordable high-level talent on the trade block. Plenty of teams across the league will be interested in him and one sneaky team to keep an eye on is the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Thunder General Manager Sam Presti always seems to have an “ace up his sleeve” and going after Sabonis could be the start of their “master plan” to become championship contenders yet again. Oklahoma City is one of the youngest teams in the league and they are one of the worst record-wise, but at the same time, they have arguably the most potential out of any NBA franchise.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: 3 Teams To Watch For In Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis Trade Talks
This is not only because of all the young talents that are only going to get better on their roster, but because the Thunder own a total of 35 draft picks through the 2028 NBA Draft. With plenty of opportunities to add stars through trades and draft high-level prospects, the Thunder are going to be a great franchise once again in the near future.
So could we see a trade between Oklahoma City and Indiana this season revolving around Domantas Sabonis? Here is what this trade could wind up looking like.
