There are a lot of question marks surrounding the Indiana Pacers right now. Which makes it even more interesting to see what they do at the trade deadline. Will they stand pat and make no moves? Will they make a big trade to shake things up? Or will they just try to fill some minor roles? Let's see what our guys think about the team's situation approaching the deadline.
Question 1: What would be your ideal trade?
Patrick Striewe - The trade that makes the most sense for the Pacers and the future of the franchise would be trading within the division, although risky. Cleveland is looking to move their veteran big man, Timofey Mozgov. The Pacers could move three expiring contracts in Mahinmi, Jordan Hill, and Solomon Hill. Indiana would get Mozgov, Mo Williams, former Pacer sharpshooter, and veteran presence, James Jones in return. Mozgov would give the Pacers another rim protector to go alongside young center Myles Turner, with experience to aid Turner's learning and maturing process. Jones' “coming home” would give the Pacers a sharpshooter and a 35 year-old veteran presence who has won championships to add back to their locker room. Indiana drafted Jones back in 2003 with the 49th overall pick in the draft. Williams would give the Pacers a point guard who would move from a backup behind Kyrie Irving in Cleveland to a starter in Indiana.
Alan Squier - My ideal trade would be Lavoy Allen & Chase Budinger for Ryan Anderson. I want this trade to happen because Anderson is the perfect power forward for the Pacers new system. He's a stretch four who can flat out shoot the ball. I would also want to dump Budinger because he isn't even in the rotation. I would add Lavoy in this trade to swap big men.
Brett David Roberts - The problem is centers do not grow on trees, and the Pacers may not have an attractive package that can be put together to reel in either Hassan Whiteside or Dwight Howard, both reportedly available. Whiteside is a free agent at season’s end and makes less than a million dollars this season, which makes it difficult for Miami to get any kind of equal return on his services. Howard, meanwhile, has shown little contentment in Orlando, Los Angeles and now Houston. Why pick up another disgruntled center? The Pacers need some offense and post presence, but obtaining it is hardly easy.
Caleb Gonya - In my opinion, an ideal trade for the Pacers would be to get a good solid power forward that can score, defend well, and rebound well. Not that Lavoy Allen isn't good, but he doesn't really fit with the Pacers' playing style and what they need at the power forward in my opinion. I would like to see someone like Kenneth Faried from the Denver Nuggets come to the Pacers, which would require giving up players like Chase Budinger and Lavoy Allen.
2. What position would you want to improve through trade?
Patrick - Point Guard. The Pacers need a point guard who can distribute the ball rather than be mainly a shoot-first scoring guard. The team must get into it’s offense more quickly. George Hill has always been a shoot-first combo guard who has struggled at times to get the team into it’s offense in a timely manner, thus resulting in forced shots at the end of rushed out-of-sync possessions.
Alan - I would want to improve at big man, as in another center or power forward. That is what the Pacers are missing. Lavoy isn't good enough and I don't think Jordan Hill is big enough. I would also want to improve the backup small forward to Paul George.
Brett - The center position. The Pacers have solid perimeter play but no one down low to anchor the paint and provide any sort of inside/outside attack. With several shooters on the roster, it might be time to part with one, and C.J. Miles does hold some trade value to several teams. The Pacers can kill with the triple, but there needs to be some balance.
Caleb - Power forward. The Pacers need a big that can contribute points and take some pressure off of Paul George. Right now, Myles Turner is starting at the power forward, but Frank Vogel would have two solid power forwards to work with if he was to go out and acquire another one before the deadline.
3. Would you make a trade right now?
Patrick - Yes, the Pacers should consider making a trade right now before the trade deadline. Indiana currently has four players who will potentially be lost this summer due to free agency with expiring contracts. The Pacers might as well get something for these players, especially something that could aid a playoff run rather than possibly losing them to other teams in the upcoming summer of 2016.
Alan - I would make a trade right now if the right one was on the table. I would try to dump expiring contracts for someone who would benefit the team. This team's record isn't good enough to not trade anyone because of chemistry.
Brett - It depends on which deals present themselves and the contractual issues with any potential returns. It really quite obviously depends on the trade, but perhaps that just goes without saying. The Pacers also would be unlikely to deal for a star with an expiring contract because unless it was a pure cap clearing move, the assurances a star would re-sign can sometimes prove to mean nothing.
Caleb - If the Pacers could get a good trade right now before the deadline, then yes, as long as it helps the team and doesn't make the players mad, I would make a trade right now.
4. Who would you trade right now?
Patrick - The Pacers should try to move Jordan Hill, Ian Mahinmi, George Hill, and Chase Budinger right now. Mahinmi, Jordan Hill, and Budinger have expiring contracts in the coming summer of 2016 and George Hill, who is a free agent in the summer of 2017, is not the type of guard the Pacers desire to their offense. Hill is more of a scoring guard whom a team running more of a high-octane offense that the Pacers have seemingly abandoned recently in this season for a “smash-mouth” style, where a point guard like Atlanta’s Jeff Teague or Mo Williams would lend better to the Pacers heading down the stretch into the playoffs.
Alan - I would trade three players on the Pacers roster: Lavoy Allen, Chase Budinger, and Solomon Hill. I would trade Lavoy because he hasn't lived up to expectations. I would trade Budinger because he is essentially useless. And I would trade Solomon Hill because his contract is expiring at the end of this season and the Pacers have no interest in resigning him, so the team might as well get something for him while it can.
Brett - It seems the players to part with are the ones that have the greatest value. With a strong backcourt three-guard rotation, the Pacers could likely part with George Hill, Rodney Stuckey, or Monta Ellis, and simply start the two that are still on the roster. The issue with dealing anyone, of course, is that other teams have be interested in the players. Simply putting a guy on the market could mean nothing.
Caleb - As of now, I don't think the Nuggets would be willing to accept that offer I proposed earlier, so I would look in to getting a good solid point guard like Jeff Teague, but instead of getting rid of George Hill, Larry Bird should try trading someone like Monta Ellis, as he hasn't been as consistent as hoped for when the team signed him through free agency.
5. Do you think a trade would be better than free agency after the season for improving the team?
Patrick - Trades would be a better option at this time because as the Pacers stand currently, they are sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, currently slated to face the three-seed Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Boston is a hot team with lots of youth on the floor and on the bench. Brad Stevens, who turns 40 this year, is one of the younger head coaches patrolling the NBA sidelines.
Alan - I think trading now would be best; even though the Pacers don't have many tradeable assets. Indiana isn't a prime spot for free agents. However, the Pacers will have some spending money this offseason.
Brett - It’s difficult to ascertain something like this. The free agent crop is pretty rich this offseason, but is Indiana a destination that any big names would flock to? The Pacers will need to gauge the value of their current players, see if anything favorable materializes, and then if not, turn to free agency. The cap is going to increase dramatically following this summer’s collective bargaining agreements, and if the Pacers are willing to spend, there will be pieces that can be put in place.
Caleb - Free agency at this point might be the best option for the Pacers. More people will be available, and they have more time to think about what trade would be best. You want to make sure you get a good player that is going to make a strong, positive impact for the team.
Plenty of good and interesting opinions from everyone who participated. Most of them seem to agree on the important things, but will the Pacers staff agree internally? None of us know what to expect, but we're all excited to see if the Indiana Pacers make any moves at the trade deadline.