How This Trade Impacts Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are in the early stages of a rebuild and they have done a solid job of adding assets. They have a solid young core led by Tyrese Haliburton and a few extra first-round picks that they have acquired in trades.

The development of those young players will be the No. 1 priority for the team, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t still make some moves to try and get competitive sooner and raise the ceiling of the team. That is what this deal with the Toronto Raptors would achieve.

OG Anunoby has an incredibly high ceiling as he has the potential to be one of the best players in the NBA. He is built like Kawhi Leonard, possessing the kind of two-way skills that teams are looking for in players to build their rosters around. If he can improve with the ball in his hands, an All-Star campaign is well within reach.

Adding Anunoby into the middle of this lineup could have the Pacers moving up the Eastern Conference standings sooner than later. Getting that kind of value for Myles Turner, who is on an expiring contract, T.J. McConnell and a first-round pick is tough to pass up.

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That first-round pick will likely be in the 20s as well. The Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to cement their status as a contender in the Eastern Conference after acquiring Donovan Mitchell from the Utah Jazz. With the core that they have, they should be able to qualify for the postseason.

Indiana sacrifices some of its assets in this deal but improves the long-term outlook of the team. While Turner and McConnell are both good players in their own right, they do not possess the ceiling that Anunoby does, making this a worthwhile risk to take.