Worst Landing Spot: Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are a team that could look to make some more moves this offseason. They were one of the most active teams in the NBA at the deadline and still have a few veterans that they could look to move in the coming weeks.

The Lakers are a team that could get involved in attempting to lengthen their rotation. A package of Russell Westbrook and draft picks for Buddy Hield and Malcolm Brogdon is something that would work under NBA rules.

While that would be a great deal for the Lakers, as Hield and Brogdon are both much better fits around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the Indiana Pacers aren’t a great landing spot for Westbrook. Indiana has their point guard of the future in Tyrese Haliburton, so the fit isn’t an ideal one as the ball will be in Haliburton’s hands as much as possible.

The off the bench would even be an awkward one as the Pacers have T.J. McConnell as one of the better reserve point guards in the league. If he is included in the trade package to Los Angeles, Westbrook could slide into that role, which would be less than ideal from his perspective.

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Add in the fact that the Indiana Pacers don’t look to be a franchise actively trying to win during the 2022-23 season, this is as bad of a landing spot as it gets for Westbrook. At this point in his career, he needs to be more amenable to coming off the bench, but he will assuredly prefer playing for a contending team if that was the case.