Pacers Have Massive Problem They Must Address Before Trade Deadline

The Pacers should make this their top priority before the trade deadline.

Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are a very intriguing team to watch as the trade deadline inches closer. There are just two weeks before the deadline is here.

What makes the Pacers so intriguing is that they have the assets to make a big move if they want to, They have a logjam at small forward now that Aaron Nesmith is back.

As they work Nesmith back into the lineup and slowly ramp up his minutes, they can decide whether or not to keep him or trade him as part of a big trade for a star.

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Bennedict Mathurin's improvement has been the reason that they might deem Nesmith expendable. If they pair him with Jarace Walker and another small contract, the Pacers could get one of the stars who isn't super expensive.

Whoever they decide to target, they have to address poor rebounding. That is something that has plagued the team for years.

Indiana is in the bottom half of the league in rebounding. They don't need to become a great rebounding team in order to significantly improve, but they just need to be average.

Some of the players they have been linked to would help them with that. A couple of players they could go after, Jerami Grant and Cameron Johnson, would be able to do that from the wing position.

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The Pacers are the fifth-worst rebounding team in the NBA. That is the biggest priority that needs to be addressed at the trade deadline.

This is a bigger need than defense, which is also a slight concern. Better rebounding would make the defense not as big of an issue.

More rebounds mean more opportunities for Tyrese Haliburton and the offense to get out in transition. It also would mean more second-chance points, which is something else they need to be better at.

Indiana has the assets to do something about this issue. They could also decide to stand pat and hope that bringing Nesmith back is going to be enough for them to make a deep run in the NBA playoffs this year.

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