The Indiana Pacers are currently projected to land a lottery pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. This is not a position they expected to be in, especially when looking at the state of the Eastern Conference. They are just 1.5 games out of the eighth spot in the East but Indiana might not have their sights set on the postseason this year.
The Pacers would never publicly tank but there are some players that would make this an option, along with trading up. Indiana has already made some big moves and they could continue in the offseason.
Victor Oladipo was the big name sent away during the regular season. They acquired Caris LeVert shortly after James Harden was sent to the Brooklyn Nets. During the NBA trade deadline, the Pacers had a few other big names mentioned in NBA trade rumors.
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Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon have been the other names mentioned. It is likely that the Pacers keep at least one, if not both, around for the future but one could certainly be on the move. Myles Turner seems like the biggest trade piece for the Pacers.
Either way, this is a team that is used to contending and that is not what they are doing this year. The front office has some decisions to make moving forward and it will be interesting to see what happens.
With sights set on the draft, the Pacers could have some options when looking to tank or move up. Here are the top three players that should be on Indiana’s radar.