Oklahoma City Thunder Receive: F Domantas Sabonis, G/F Jeremy Lamb
Indiana Pacers Receive: G Theo Maledon, F Darius Bazley, F Kenrich Williams, DEN 2023 1st Round Pick (Lottery-Protected, via OKC), LAC 2024 1st Round Pick (Unprotected, via OKC)
Who Indiana is going to wind up trading away ahead of the trade deadline and what they would want in return for each of their players is unknown at this time, but seeing as they are most likely going to look to rebuild, getting draft picks and young talents is what they are going to want.
Oklahoma City has both of these to offer up and both Theo Maledon and Darius Bazley present a lot of potential for the Indiana Pacers. Maledon was drafted in the second-round last year by the Thunder and played upwards of 27 minutes per game last year, starting in about 75% of the game he played in, but he is only averaging about 13 minutes per game this season and has seemed to fall out of the rotation.
The 20-year-old guard is currently a work-in-progress and while the Thunder like the upside he presents, guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Luguentz Dort and Tre Mann are seeing more time than him in the backcourt right now.
As for Darius Bazley, he has been in the starting unit for the Thunder at both the small-forward and power-forward positions for the last two seasons, but his minutes and overall production is starting to decline as the Thunder change their rotations.
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With rookie Jeremiah Robinson-Earl playing well and Josh Giddey being more of a “positionless” basketball player, Bazley’s value to this team has dropped slightly, but he is still a young, athletic and dynamic forward that can fill many different needs for a team in this league.
Both Maledon (20) and Bazley (21) could be young building blocks for the Pacers in the backcourt and frontcourt and getting two future first-round picks in 2023 and 2024 is not a bad trade off either.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luguentz Dort and Josh Giddey are the faces of the Oklahoma City Thunder right now and they are all high-level talents, but the problem this team has is that they need a somewhat experienced leader. Bringing in a bunch of veterans nearing the end of their career does not really help this team, but bringing in a 25-year-old multi-time All-Star definitely does.
Pairing Sabonis with Gilgeous-Alexander gives the Thunder two All-Star-like talents to lead this team and it addresses their biggest need for a talented frontcourt player. Both Derrick Favors and Mike Muscala could be on the move ahead of the trade deadline this season, leaving Isaiah Roby as their only true frontcourt talent.
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Domantas Sabonis could continue being an all-around threat with the ball in his hands in Oklahoma City and the best part is that he would not have to share touches. Along with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, he would be “the guy” for this young Thunder franchise and could help elevate them back to playoff contention for the foreseeable future.
