What Is Next For The Indiana Pacers?
The Pacers have been a playoff team for the past couple of seasons, but they have always fell short of their expectations. Now with rumors that players like Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner want out, what is next for the Pacers?
The Pacers have been a solid playoff team the last couple of seasons, but they can’t seem to break through. They’ve been swept 3 of the last 4 seasons, and the one season that they weren’t swept was 2018 when they took the Finals bound Cavs to 7 games. The Pacers have proven that they can be a good team in the league. They have two All-Stars in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis. Oladipo hasn’t been the same since his injury, but he could still return to his pre-injury form.
Malcolm Brogdon and TJ Warren were key pickups this summer as they were excellent for Indiana. Warren quietly averaged 20 points and Malcolm Brogdon showed that he wasn’t a fluke. Jeremy Lamb had a season ending injury, but he was solid off the bench as well. The Pacers really haven’t had a talent or a coach problem. They’ve just been unfortunate with injuries and just bad luck.
But now with Nate McMillan out the door and with new head coach Nate Bjorkgren in charge, what is next for the Pacers? A lot of tough decisions will have to be made in order to move this franchise forward, and what are those decisions?
For starters, I think you trade Victor Oladipo. Oladipo was great for one season, and was a huge reason for success during the 2017-18 season. But since getting injured during the 2018-19 campaign, he hasn’t been the same. I don’t thin you should keep him for too long and hold on to him for too long. And with reports that Oladipo doesn’t want to stay with the team, just trade him. Some draft picks would be nice, a like a first or a couple of seconds along with a player. But I don’t think that the Pacers should be keeping the former All-Star.
I also think that you trade Myles Turner, preferably to Boston. Boston really wants Turner, and they will be giving up another former All-Star in Gordon Hayward to do so. Hayward would be a nice scorer alongside Sabonis, Warren, Brogdon, and Lamb. I think he would help replace the gap in the offense left by Oladipo.
The Pacers might also need some more bench depth. Their bench would obviously be better if Jeremy Lamb remained healthy, but I think that they could pick up some free agents for cheap this summer in order to fill out their lineup. Pat Connaughton, Alec Burks, and Wilson Chandler are all guys who you could sign for cheap to help get some bench depth.
I like what the Pacers are doing with this franchise. They don’t always go for the homerun. They quietly got Brogdon and Warren this summer and they have worked out perfectly. They traded Paul George to OKC for two guys in Sabonis and Oladipo who had All-Star seasons. So the Pacers aren’t making any dumb decisions about the direction that their franchise is going. The coach they hired, I don’t know anything about and neither do most people. But they spoke highly of him and I doubt they would just hire him for no reason.
The Pacers just need a couple of moves such as trading Oladipo and Turner and getting some bench depth in order to make them a real team in the East. I think that it’s finally time for the Pacers to make progress in the Eastern Conference.
What Moves Should The Pacers Make This Offseason? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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