Would this trade make sense for the Indiana Pacers?
The Indiana Pacers lack a direction as a franchise right now. They’ve sort of clumped together a fair amount of solid players without a clear franchise cornerstone. The team would be committing to De’Aaron Fox to fit that role by doing a deal of this kind.
Moving on from Domantas Sabonis would not be an easy choice for the Pacers. He is the only remaining part of the Paul George trade and has earned two All-Star appearances. He is involved in a major way in Indiana’s half-court offense, too.
By keeping Myles Turner as the clear-cut center going forward, the Pacers would still have an elite rim protector while also fully embracing his stretch-five skill-set both on the perimeter and as an interior play-finisher. That only further optimizes the use of the team’s spending.
While there would no longer be overlap at the center position, the Pacers would have a newfound logjam in the backcourt. While Indiana could play De’Aaron Fox at the one with Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert each on the perimeter, there would be
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Lakers-Pacers Trade Is Headlined By Russell Westbrook
Brogdon is ineligible to be traded for the remainder of the league year while parting with LeVert would not be an easy choice either.
However, the situation could be resolved at a later point if the team needed to make a roster change that sent one of them elsewhere.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: This Lakers-Pacers Trade Is Headlined By Russell Westbrook
The Pacers would still face the issue of having a lack of pull-up shooting threats as initiators within the half-court. Fox has elite speed and can get downhill with dribble penetration, but it takes more to truly set the foundation for an offense as a lead guard in today’s NBA.
