The Most Important Trade in Pacers Franchise History

When you think of trades the Indiana Pacers have made in franchise history your reminded of how successful the organization has been in targeting future stars.

When Indiana needed a point guard to pair in the backcourt with Reggie Miller they targeted Mark Jackson in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers, building a starting five that was a strong contender in the East. The Pacers mistakenly traded Jackson to the Denver Nuggets in the offseason of 1996, but were able to land one of the best players from the Fab Five in Jalen Rose. Indiana then traded back for Jackson before the 1996-97 NBA Trade Deadline. Little did the Pacers know that both players would play huge roles for the team that made the 2000 NBA Finals.

While all three of those trades ended up working out for the Pacers, there are still a handful of trades that come to mind when thinking of memorable moves the franchise has completed.

The Pacers traded long-time veteran forward Dale Davis to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jermaine O'Neal --who was drafted out of Eau Claire High School in the loaded 1996 NBA Draft. O'Neal was buried on the bench with a veteran-heavy Portland team but soared to stardom as the Pacers second star next to Reggie Miller. And once Reggie retired, O'Neal became the face of the franchise.

Indiana traded away a skilled German small forward in Detlef Schrempf to the Seattle Supersonics for Derrick McKey. With defense being an area of weakness, the Pacers sacrificed some offensive firepower for a versatile defender who drew the toughest matchup every night. But people often forget that Indiana made a terrific move to land Schrempf in 1989. They parted ways with veteran Herb Williams and not only acquired Schrempf but the draft pick that became Antonio Davis.

Oneal Hibbert — January 6, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) passes the ball over Boston Celtics center Jermaine O'Neal (7) during the fourth quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the 2008 NBA Draft, Indiana parted ways with Jermaine O'Neal --as injuries were beginning to stack up-- and landed the 17th overall pick. They then selected the 7-foot-2 Georgetown Hoya center, Roy Hibbert.

At the 2002 NBA Trade Deadline, Indiana moved on from Jalen Rose and Travis Best and acquired Ron Artest, Ron Mercer, Brad Miller and Kevin Ollie. This was another example of trading off of veteran players for a young promising group of guys. Artest went on to win Defensive Player of the Year and Miller was named an NBA All-Star before his eventual departure for Sacramento. This was another Donnie Walsh masterclass.

What was the Most Important Trade?

Jan 30, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard speaks during an Indiana Pacers press conference to announce the contract extension of center Miles Turner at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

But all of those great trades don't get us where we are today.

Kevin Pritchard is a savaant when it comes to making the most of a situation. KP was dealt an awful hand when he took over as President of Basketball Operations in the 2017 offseason. Larry Bird was stepping away from the team in this full-time role but stayed with the team during the NBA Draft process. While the stain of selecting T.J. Leaf is on Pritchard's resume, it was actually Bird's decision.

Nevertheless, that was the least of Pritchard's problems. Almost immediately when Pritchard took over for Bird, the Pacers franchise superstar, Paul George, had requested a trade from the organization. The small forward out of Fresno State never gave Pritchard a fair shot to build around him and had his eyes set on heading back to California in the offseason if he wasn't moved.

This request came shortly before the NBA Draft and when no trade was made on draft day, people were wondering where George would eventually land. Rumor was that Cleveland wanted to trade for George but were unwilling to move Kyrie Irving to make it happen. Indiana also had talks with the Golden State Warriors but Bob Meyers couldn't part with one half of the splash brothers in Klay Thompson. Boston was reportedly interested in George, but the Pacers wanted the third overall pick, which eventually became Jayson Tatum.

Two weeks passed after the NBA Draft and it was then when the league was blindsided by a deal made between Kevin Pritchard and Sam Presti. Indiana sent George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.

Dec 31, 2020; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis (11) and guard Victor Oladipo (4) share a laugh during warm ups before the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first quarter at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

There were no picks involved in the trade. Just a firm belief that Oladipo was on the verge of turning into a star after being selected 2nd overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. They also were big believers in Domantas Sabonis, who was the 11th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. When the deal went down, everyone crucified the Pacers for the return they got, but Pritchard was the last one laughing when Oladipo won the 2017-18 Most Improved Player of the Year award.

Oladipo averaged 23.1 points per game, was named to the All-NBA third team, made his first All-Star team, and was selected to the All-NBA Defensive first team. Indiana drew the unfortunate luck of facing LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs in lost in a back-and-forth Game 7.

That season became one of the most memorable in Indiana Pacers franchise history despite it not leading to any postseason success. Sadly, Oladipo's one amazing season didn't turn into multiple. The next year he suffered a ruptured quad tendon in his right knee and was never able to get back to the level he was at. The original surgery was done poorly and he had to have a second surgery later in his career.

In an interview, Oladipo had this to say about how poorly his first surgery was, "It felt like the soul left my body when I first got injured. The doctors told me that if I were to continue this, I would probably tear my quad again because the way the doctors did my surgery is probably better for a 90-year-old woman."

This trade would have been disastrous had Indiana only acquired Oladipo, but they were fortunate enough to land Sabonis who turned into one of the best bigs in the Eastern Conference with the Pacers.

In the 2018-19 season he finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting. He moved into the starting lineup the next season and was named an All-Star in back-to-back seasons. Once becoming a starter he averaged 19.4 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. His stock was extremely high and the Pacers made the most out of it.

The Paul George Transaction Trade Tree

Hali George — Dec 31, 2022; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; LA Clippers guard Paul George (13) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) defends in the first quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Derek Kramer of iPacers.com has been the mastermind of tracking how the Paul George trade has benefited the Pacers. In a nutshell, Indiana turned the Paul George return of Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis into their now franchise superstar, Tyrese Haliburton, key role player Andrew Nembhard, and on a lesser note, Ben Sheppard.

Somehow through several transactions the Paul George trade package ended up helping Indiana land Pascal Siakam in 2024. And because Isaiah Jackson was a part of the transaction tree, you can add Ivica Zubac to this long-running list.

This is why I view the Paul George trade as the most important trade in Pacers' franchise history. No, Oladipo and Sabonis didn't have the same level of impact as what Haliburton has had for the Pacers in a short amount of time, but if Indiana hadn't pulled off the trade with OKC they likely don't land Haliburton.

siakam ha — Nov 6, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) in the second half against the Orlando Magic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

It was a trade that was heavily criticized in the moment, but has received nothing but praise since.

From then on, there's been only one trade that has received serious criticism under Pritchard: the move to acquire Ivica Zubac at the Trade Deadline. Indiana traded Mathurin, Jackson and the No. 5 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after finishing with the second-worst record in the league. The players involved weren't the reason for the criticism, but the fact that Indiana moved on from such a high pick for a non All-Star.

History has proven that Pritchard is usually on the right side of the trades that he makes, and he will love to be proven right once again.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

Add us as a preferred source on Google