An interesting name that has surfaced in NBA trade rumors recently is Domantas Sabonis. The two-time NBA All-Star big man was thought to be the franchise player for Indiana but they could decide to completely flip the script and send him away in a trade. If this happens, the Portland Trail Blazers should be all in on Sabonis.
The Pacers know a thing or two about splash trades. They were a part of the three-team deal that landed James Harden with the Brooklyn Nets in addition to their own deal that sent Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder. In part of the Harden trade, the Pacers acquired Caris LeVert and Victor Oladipo ended up in Houston.
Now, players like Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon have been coming up in NBA trade rumors recently. Myles Turner is another name that the Pacers could look to move during their rebuild. It truly comes down to the type of identity that Indiana wants to pursue. If it’s a defense-first approach, Indiana would have a no-brainer choice of committing to Turner and moving on from Sabonis.
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The Trail Blazers should be on the opposite end of the spectrum. They are a team that is interested in competing and have been in win-now mode for years. However, they lack the necessary dynamic contributor in the middle of their offense similar to how the Denver Nuggets benefit from the presence of Nikola Jokic. Of course, Sabonis isn’t on that same plane, but he would add new dynamics to Portland’s half-court offense.
Unfortunately, the Trail Blazers have been unable to do so. The duo of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum has not been able to take the next step toward a championship. Portland has some room if they want to add another star player and Sabonis could be that player down low.
This would certainly shake things up in both conference is moving forward. Let’s take a look and see how this trade might happen once the offseason comes around.
