Before the Trade Deadline, Pacers Are Anticipated to Purchase
The Indiana Pacers’ performance has been one of the season’s biggest surprises.
Most people anticipated that the Pacers would have a difficult season and be in the running for one of the top picks in the 2023 NBA Draft. Instead, the young core of the Pacers has outperformed expectations, as evidenced by their 23-19 record that has them in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports is reporting that “there’s indeed a growing sense among rival teams that Before the February election, Indiana will look into improvements. 9 trade deadline,” and the team is focused on finding an upgrade at power forward.
In the upcoming draft, the Pacers will have three first-round picks: their own, Cleveland’s (as a result of the Caris LeVert trade from the previous year), and Boston’s (as a result of the Malcolm Brogdon trade from the previous summer).
The team appears open to including guard Chris Duarte, 25, in a trade in addition to draft capital.
Hawks power forward John Collins is a notable player. According to Fischer, Indiana has held internal discussions about moving the power forward.
Fischer adds that PJ Washington of the Hornets may also a target for the Pacers, and he could be a more “cost-effective solution” since he will be a free agent this offseason.
News source: basketballnews.com
