The Indiana Pacers appear to be in a situation where they would most benefit from moving on from some key players at the NBA trade deadline.
There already has been a lot of attention placed on the long-term future of Myles Turner, but could Domantas Sabonis perhaps be moved?
According to Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Sacramento Kings and New Orleans Pelicans have both expressed trade interested in Domantas Sabonis even though it’s more likely that Myles Turner will be dealt.
Sacramento and New Orleans have both expressed a desire for Sabonis, although it’s far more likely that Turner would be the Pacers big man out the door if his injury forces Indiana to drop their asking price.
Sabonis has been sidelined for the Indiana Pacers’ previous four games due to an ankle sprain. He is averaging 19.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists while converting 57.7% of his field goal attempts.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Raptors Discussed Siakam For Sabonis Trade With Pacers
While there is no doubting that Sabonis is a helpful talent, one of the complications when evaluating potential trade scenarios involving him is his lack of defensive impact and underwhelming perimeter shooting results. He isn’t a medium-volume shooter
When evaluating the Sacramento Kings, one of the key drawbacks to their roster construction has been an inability to execute defensively. Domantas Sabonis isn’t necessarily the type of talent that is going to improve a team on that side of the ball, so where would the improvement come?
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Raptors Discussed Siakam For Sabonis Trade With Pacers
The New Orleans Pelicans already have Jonas Valanciunas manning the center position and he also is an underwhelming defender—providing a drawback to the team deploying him.
It’s clear the Indiana Pacers will have a lot of tough decisions to make as the NBA trade deadline approaches. If injuries prevent them from making certain moves, they could be a team to watch closer to the 2022 NBA Draft.
