Indiana Pacers mock trade review: Checking out four deals from Bleacher Report
Recently, Bleacher Report posted a piece detailing a mock trade that every team in the NBA should consider. The Indiana Pacers were mentioned four times throughout the article.
The quartet of deals all involve Pacers veterans — two contain Myles Turner and two contain T.J. McConnell. Turner has been in trade chatter for years, and it has heated up in recent months as the Los Angeles Lakers look to move Russell Westbrook. But none of these mock deals connect the Pacers and Lakers.
Here are the four deals and why Indiana would or would not execute them in reality.
1. Pacers trade T.J. McConnell to the Chicago Bulls for Coby White.
On paper, this deal makes some sense. Lonzo Ball is injured for Chicago and will be out for an undetermined amount of time, so they could use some point guard depth. McConnell is a talented veteran, and the Bulls are trying to win.
The Pacers, meanwhile, are rebuilding, and White was the seventh overall pick in 2019. He can score, and his speed with the ball is impressive. The 22-year old fits Indiana's timeline.
In reality, neither team would likely do this deal. The Bulls have Goran Dragic and Ayo Dosunmu on the roster filling out the point guard rotation well in Ball's absence, and White could be a useful piece if Chicago wants to trade for a star in the future. Meanwhile, the Pacers value McConnell's place on the team as a leader, and they have promising young point guard Andrew Nembhard already on the roster. White would certainly have value to the team as a young piece, and his athleticism fits Indiana's vision. But this trade seems like a no-go.
2. Pacers trade T.J. McConnell to the Toronto Raptors for Khem Birch and second round picks in 2025 and 2026.
This deal is similar to the first one in that a team with playoff aspirations acquires McConnell for younger assets.
The Raptors reserve point guards, Dalano Banton and Malachi Flynn, are talented but inexperienced. McConnell would give the team a veteran behind Fred VanVleet, and his ability to apply pressure defensively would fit the Raptors defensive style.
Birch is a 30-year old center who can be a bruiser on the interior. He is outside the Pacers ideal age range for their rebuild, but his contract is shorter (two years instead of three) and cheaper (just under $7 million in each of the next two seasons) than McConnell's.
How strong the second round draft picks are would likely be the tipping point in a deal like this. The Pacers would want strong picks in exchange for the better player, but the Raptors would be giving up depth in the frontcourt and making it harder for their young talents to get minutes. Both teams have medicore reasons to do this deal, but it doesn't really make sense for either side, especially because Birch likely wouldn't get minutes for the blue and gold.
3. Pacers trade Myles Turner to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac, Amir Coffey, and Jason Preston.
Turner is the best player in this trade, and he is on an expiring contract. He himself recently stated on The Woj Pod that the Pacers would be smart to consider trading him instead of losing him for nothing.
Zubac is a key player for the Clippers, and he is nearly averaging a double-double this season. He is on a contract that spans three years and totals $32.8 million.
Preston and Coffey are both 25 years old or younger, which puts them inside the Pacers rebuilding age range. Coffey is a solid wing/guard type, and Preston was the 33rd pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. He just recently made his NBA debut.
Turner is better than Zubac, but Zubac is still good and could be dealt later. The Clippers would do this deal if they felt like the difference in talent between the two bigs was worth giving up two of their young talents, but the Pacers would have to be infatuated with one or both of Preston and Coffey to feel like they were getting enough value for Turner to do this deal. Indiana could net a first-round draft pick for Turner in other moves, so they would have to view this asset return as being of similar value to that to make a trade.
4. Pacers trade Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks for MarJon Beauchamp and Brook Lopez.
Lopez has been a little better than Turner this season, averaging 14.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and a league-leading 3.0 blocks per game so far. But his contract is expiring, and he's 34 years old. His trade value is lower than Turner's mostly because of future value.
The Pacers could trade Lopez elsewhere after making this move, and he would be valuable to many teams. He's older and would not make sense for the blue and gold. His value after being flipped, on top of Beauchamp, could be enough for Indiana to consider this deal. Beauchamp was the 24th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
The problem with this swap is that it doesn't make sense for the Bucks. Lopez, health permitting, should be better for Milwaukee this season than Turner would be due to his history with the franchise and fit in their scheme, and the Bucks are chasing a title. That's more important than their long-term answer at center. If the Pacers like Beauchamp and Lopez gets hurt at some point, this could make sense. But right now, it doesn't really seem like something that would actually happen.
- The Pacers are still considered the most likely team to make a Russell Westbrook trade as Myles Turner comments on the Lakers rumors. CLICK HERE.
- AllPacers chats one-on-one with former Indiana Pacers forward Justin Anderson. Exclusive interview here: CLICK HERE.
- Chris Duarte breaks out of his slump in Brooklyn, drops career-high 30 points for the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers set franchise record for made three pointers while Bennedict Mathurin shines in Brooklyn. CLICK HERE.
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