The Indiana Pacers were a surprise inclusion in what ended up being a four-team trade centered around James Harden. For their part, Indiana parted ways with two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo, who is now a member of the Houston Rockets. Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon recently spoke out about losing Oladipo, and as it appears, the former Rookie of the Year isn't going to be crying over spilled milk.
Brogdon had some high praise for his now-former teammate, but also expressed how he believes that the Pacers should be able to cope well sans Oladipo:
“This is a steady team,” Brogdon stated, via Pacers insider Scott Agness. “This is a mature, becoming a veteran group that’s been together for a while. We lost a very good player, but this team is gonna continue to play good ball.”
The fact that Indiana gets a very able replacement in Caris LeVert (as well as a future second-round pick) certainly helps soften the blow. LeVert has been playing well under the shadow of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and Brooklyn, and he could actually emerge as a legitimate star now that he's with the Pacers.
For Brogdon, though, he is adamant that the Pacers already have the tools to compete at the highest level. Their blowout win against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Moda Center without Oladipo serves as a testament to this fact:
“We handled a really good team tonight, on the road,” Brogdon said. “This was a statement win for us and now we have to build on it.”
After Thursday's win, Indiana now improves to 8-4 on the season. They get a couple of days off (including Saturday's postponed game against the Phoenix Suns) before returning to action on Sunday in a tough test against the Los Angeles Clippers.
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