Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers are in an awkward position as a franchise because of the fact that they have had the most trade rumors circulating about them this offseason. Whether it is Victor Oladipo, T.J. Warren or Myles Turner involved in potential trades, the Indiana Pacers have to determine what the future holds for the franchise and which players give them the best chance at contending in the Eastern Conference.
Victor Oladipo has missed a lot of time over the last two seasons in Indiana and with the Pacers not giving him a contract extension, there are a lot of talks that he could be on the move near this season’s trade deadline. With all the uncertainty surrounding Oladipo and his numbers declining from all the injuries he has suffered over the years, why not move him and a few draft picks for a guy like DeMar DeRozan?
Indiana was the 8th worst offensive team a season ago in terms of points per game and a lot of the blame can be put on the injuries, but at the end of the day, the Pacers do not have a true star player on their roster anymore. Brogdon and Warren are solid secondary scoring options for them, but Domantas Sabonis is not a player who can carry the scoring load for Indiana. Victor Oladipo was supposed to be the star on the wing, but with things not panning out the way the Pacers had hoped, it would make sense to bring in a reliable former All-Star like DeRozan.
With the addition of DeRozan, the Pacers would not just get better offensively, but defensively as well with DeRozan on the wing. The bench would still be a question mark for Indiana, but their starters would be Brogdon, DeRozan, Warren, Sabonis and Turner assuming everyone is healthy. That is a really good lineup to contend in the Eastern Conference with and they would definitely finish as one of the top teams in the East.
It seems like the opportunity to get DeRozan for Oladipo is too good to be true for the Pacers, but if the opportunity presents itself, they need to pull the trigger and move on from Victor Oladipo who has been injured way too often to make Indiana a threat in the Eastern Conference.
