The Indiana Pacers are in the midst of a massive retooling of their roster after making some big trades ahead of the deadline. Caris LeVert was traded away to the Cleveland Cavaliers, while Domantas Sabonis was dealt to the Sacramento Kings.
Now, the Pacers have a presumed core of Myles Turner-Tyrese Haliburton-Chris Duarte, with many interesting pieces around them. While this season is lost, as the Pacers are 20-40 at the All-Star break, there are some big questions that need answers. Thus, here are two burning questions for the Pacers after the 2022 All-Star break.
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Pacers Burning Questions
1. Who will complement Turner-Haliburton-Duarte?
Right now, this roster is better than the 20-40 record suggests. Obviously, due to the fact that three new players were added a few games ago, they have had limited time to improve in the win column. However, the report from December suggesting that the Pacers put their three best players on the trading block clearly impacted the team and this season will end with them in the lottery. Still, for a team in the lottery, they have a terrific trio of Turner, Haliburton, and Duarte. Aside from them, they have some pieces they need to make decisions on going forward.
Perhaps the biggest one is on Malcolm Brogdon, who just signed an extension this past offseason. After getting Haliburton in the Sabonis deal, the Pacers are reportedly open to trading Brogdon. While Brogdon is an excellent player, he is injury-prone and expendable with Haliburton in place as the point guard of the future. Brogdon was not eligible to be dealt ahead of the deadline, but he could be traded in the offseason. Indiana will surely want a lot for him if a trade is explored.
Another key player to keep an eye on is T.J. Warren. Warren became famous in the 2020 NBA Bubble when he was playing some amazing basketball. He averaged 26.6 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 54.1% from the field and an incredible 47.5% from behind the arc. However, he has also been injured for the last two seasons, playing his last game in December 2020. His contract is expiring at the end of this season, so it will be interesting to see whether the Pacers will re-sign him in the offseason.
Then there is Buddy Hield, who was acquired in the Sabonis trade. While Hield still has two seasons left on his contract after this one, he is still fairly tradable if it does not work out. Hield is off to a nice start with Indiana, averaging 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in four games while shooting 45.6% from the field and 35.0% from 3-point range.
Last but not least, there is a small decision to be made on Lance Stephenson. He is basically a Pacers legend at this point, but he is still a fringe NBA player who only seems to play well in Indianapolis. In 24 games played for the Pacers this season, he is averaging 10.4 points and 4.3 assists while shooting 46.6% from the field. He is on a one-year deal, of course, so the Pacers have a decision to make on whether they want to keep him in Indiana.
2. Can this core be a championship contender in the future?
The reason why the Pacers decided to go for these trades is that they did not believe their previous core would be fighting for a championship in the near future. Amid a brutal season under Rick Carlisle, Indiana determined it was time to shake things up.
But this retooling process is not done yet.
The Pacers will have a high lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft and could get a franchise-changing piece to add to the talent in place. When it comes to free agents, their core is definitely not good enough to bring in a marquee free agent, which might be an issue. Brogdon and Hield are trade candidates to help improve the long-term viability of this core, though they could also be kept around if no good deals are found.
The core in place is solid, but even if they get a high draft pick and get someone good, how reliable is Indiana's core in terms of competing for a title? They do not have a marquee player right now, and it would take a while for the draft pick to develop into one even if that pick hits. Obviously, this could be wrong and the Pacers win a title in three years, but the chances of that happening are fairly slim.
Indiana took a route that does not guarantee success, but it gives them a new chance. For now, we can say that the Pacers took a huge step. Whether it is sideways, backward, or forwards, only time will tell. Right now, it does not look like they are built to contend in at least the next two to three seasons.
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