Epic Trade Proposal Has Pacers Getting $53M Star All-Defensive Forward

Should Indiana pull the trigger and bring in one of the league's most exciting defenders?

Dec 17, 2021; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21) drives around New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (5) in the second half at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-Imagn Images | Chuck Cook-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers have stumbled out to a 13-15 start on their 2024-25 season. The team seems to have lost the run-and-gun identity that made it such a breakout success last year. In 2023-24, Indiana went 47-35 behind a barrage of 3-point shooting and the immaculate play of All-NBA Third Team point guard Tyrese Haliburton, two-way center Myles Turner, a cadre of young wings, and midseason acquisition Pascal Siakam.

The Pacers proved to be kryptonite to a Milwaukee Bucks squad that had been expected to contend for a title, both in the regular season and the playoffs. The No. 6-seeded Pacers upset the No. 3-seeded Bucks in a six-game series. In fairness, Milwaukee wass missing its best player, eight-time All-NBA honoree Giannis Antetokounmpo, for the entire series.

The Pacers went on to upset the similarly ailing New York Knicks in a hotly contested seven-game semifinal clash, before ultimately falling in a four-game Eastern Conference Finals sweep to the eventual champion Boston Celtics.

Cholo Martin Magsino of Fadeaway World proposes a new deal that would see Indiana "panic-trade" to acquire All-Defensive First Team small forward Herbert Jones, in exchange for current starting small forward Aaron Nesmith, forward Jarace Walker, guard Johnny Furphy, plus a 2028 first round draft pick.

This is quite the haul for a doomed New Orleans club, but Jones is a special player, and would represent the best piece being moved in the deal.

The 6-foot-8 Alabama product has barely played this season for the 5-23 Pelicans, like many of his teammates — which is part of the reason for that brutal record, the worst in the Western Conference. Across his 10 healthy games, the 26-year-old is averaging 12.1 points on .454/.318/.792 shooting splits, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest.

Indiana is struggling to guard opposing wings — and to maintain the health of its own, specifically Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard. Haliburton has taken a step backwards this year. The fissures in the Siakam-Indiana partnership are starting to show, as he's generally slower than the rest of the team. But bringing in Jones — a big, long, athletic wing who can convincingly defend shooting guards through power forwards — would go a long way towards helping shore up the Pacers' depth and salvage its 2024-25 season run. Is this the kind of move that rockets Indiana back into championship contention? No, but every journey begins with a single step.

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