The future looks bright for the Pacers. They surpassed expectations this season, making the playoffs and pushing the Cavaliers to the brink of elimination before LeBron James willed Cleveland to a Game 7 victory.
Indiana’s blockbuster trade with the Thunder turned out better than anyone could have anticipated. Victor Oladipo blossomed into a star, while Oklahoma City crashed in the first round and could lose Paul George in free agency.
The next step is how the Pacers approach the offseason. There’s plenty of uncertainty surrounding other rotation players. The salaries of Bojan Bogdanovic and Darren Collison are not guaranteed for next season. Thaddeus Young and Cory Joseph hold player options on their deals while the team has a contract option on Lance Stephenson.
It’s safe to say some, if not all of those players will return. The bigger question is how to improve the surrounding cast around Oladipo. The team will have the cap room to sign at least one, if not two, impact free agents depending upon those contract decisions.
Trades could also be pursued, and Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer suggests a bold approach. He feels the club should pursue the Rockets’ Clint Capela and then put Myles Turner on the trade block. O’Connor also brings up Magic forward Aaron Gordon, a versatile defender, and the Bucks’ offensively-gifted though injury-prone forward Jabari Parker as potential upgrades to the current unit.
That leads to our question of the day: If you were the Pacers’ GM, what changes would you make to turn them into a serious contender?
Please take to the comments section and let your opinion be heard. We look forward to what you have to say.
Need to try and acquire Kemba
Kemba and Oladipo would overlap too much. They don’t need another ball-needy guard but a wing instead.
Bojan Bogdanovic, not Bogdan Bogdanovic
They don’t follow the ding dong from The Ringer!!! Not trading Turner. Where do these clowns dream up this stuff? Draft one of the great point guards in the draft. Collision getting older. Sign a great shooter…..Korver/Redick type. Keeps the floor spread. They have a tight knit team….no need to gut it. Joe Young needs minutes. TJ Leaf can score too. Not sure Kemba fits.
Collision had the top shooting % in the nba for 3s this season.
Wait until LeBron retires.
Isaiah Thomas will be cheap and seems like a good fit offensively. Unfortunately, his defense is trash.
And a cancer. Lakers have cooled their jets with his talk already.
The Pacers are in a nice position. Even if everyone opts in, and the Pacers pick up all team options, they’ll still have $10M to spend.
I see Thad back, but CoJo declining his option. If he does, the Pacers will have almost $18M to spend. Adding a Kemba through trade, or a couple of mid-level FA’s would be easy for Indy to do.
I don’t know that they would be EC favorites, but they could be a dangerous year in year out team pretty easily.
With all do respect, who is CoJo?
Cory Joseph. And it is DUE respect.
They need to keep Cory Joseph and add another wing and probably someone that can play the 4 as well. They need to get better defensively at those positions, and they can probably use another shooter
No to Kemba, who may not mesh. They could use a taller guard like Dinwiddie (NJ) or Wright (Tor), given Joseph may leave.
Getting Jabari would help in staying in front of Milwaukee.