Why The Indiana Pacers Do The Deal

We know the Indiana Pacers tend to opt against rebuilding. In fact, team president Kevin Pritchard has said as much himself.

There’s some logic there. A small-market team like the Pacers is often better off retooling on the fly to keep their modest fanbase satisfied. That’s fine. The Pacers ought to make an exception with their current roster.

There is talent here. It’s just not nearly enough to justify competing in 2022-23. Meanwhile, clearing Turner and Hield from the roster will make room for promising young players like Isaiah Jackson, Jalen Smith, Bennedict Mathurin, and Chris Duarte.

With that in mind, acquiring two first-round picks makes perfect sense for the Pacers this summer. Given how distantly these picks convey, it’s likely that Indiana will be competitive again by the time they’re peaking in value.

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In that event, they could use them to facilitate a trade that gets them to the next level.