Three Trades the Pacers Could Explore to Land a Guard Off the Bench

When the Pacers moved on from Bennedict Mathurin at the Trade Deadline, they left a giant hole in their second unit. The Pacers now have no scoring guards off the bench outside of T.J. McConnell, but his primary role is to score and play make, not just score.

In order for the Pacers to find someone who can be a microwave scorer, it will likely require a trade, as free agents with their skills tend to go for more than what the Pacers can offer.

Today I am going to look at three different trades that land the Pacers three different types of scorers.

Player One

The first player I think the Pacers should trade for is Sacramento Kings microwave bench scorer, Malik Monk.

Monk is entering the third year of his contract, where he will make just over $20M. He has one final year on his contract next season, but it is a team option.

Last season, Monk shot 39.5% from three-point range, averaged 3.0 assists, and scored 12.0 points per game. He is a combo guard who can explode offensively off the bench, but he’s more than just a scorer. Monk is also a secondary creator capable of facilitating for others.

Defensively, Monk uses his 6-foot-7 wingspan and athleticism to compensate for his lack of size at 6-foot-2. Over the years, he has developed into an average defender. He has only appeared in one playoff series — Sacramento’s seven-game matchup against the Golden State Warriors — but averaged 19 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 29.3 minutes per game.

The Deal

Indiana receives
-Malik Monk
-No. 34 overall pick

Sacramento receives
-Jarace Walker
-Ben Sheppard

Indiana trades away two players from the 2023 NBA Draft Class who are due for new contracts to acquire a win-now player.

In addition, Indiana also receives Sacramento’s second-round pick in this draft, at pick No. 34.

The reason the Pacers and Kings agree to this deal is because the Pacers save the Kings $6.7M by doing this deal, and because Indiana absorbs the extra money, Sacramento sends their second-round pick.

With this trade, Indiana can add another early second-rounder to their bench—which we’ve seen them do the last two drafts—as they navigate the luxury tax and the first apron.

Player Two

The second player I have the Pacers trading for is Toronto’s Gradey Dick, a movement and spot-up shooter who can light it up from three.

Michael Grange of Sportsnet shared that Gradey Dick would be open to a trade from Toronto, which makes him a target the Pacers should look at.

Dick’s minutes per game dwindled from 29.4 two seasons ago to just 14 this season. He went from starting in all 54 games he was available to play in, to starting in just one game for the Raptors this season.

The reports of Dick being open to a trade from Toronto came off the heels of being pulled out of the Raptors playoff rotation completely.

Indiana’s Previous Interest

It is worth noting that back in the 2023 pre-draft process, the Pacers had a solo workout and dinner with Gradey Dick, because they were impressed by his 40% shooting at Kansas, which is the alma mater of Pacers President of Basketball Operations, Kevin Pritchard.

Indiana elected to go with Jarace Walker with the No. 8 overall pick instead, as they were looking for their future starting power forward.

While Jarace never turned into Indiana’s answer at the four, he spent his second and third seasons playing primarily at the three.

After three seasons for both lottery picks, it is Jarace who is the knockdown three-point shooter connecting on 38.6% of his attempts, while Dick has yet to reach the elite level he showed in college, he is still shooting around league average (34.3%) for his career.

If the Pacers wanted to take a flier on Dick, there are a few ways they could do it: They could waive one of Micah Potter, Quenton Jackson or Kam Jones and get under the luxury tax, and then use their taxpayer mid-level exception to acquire him (it works exactly like a traded player exception aka TPE), or they could do a player for player swap.

The Deal

Indiana receives
-Gradey Dick

Toronto receives
-Ben Sheppard

This is a straight up deal that gives both teams a different look at the backup two position. Indiana moves on from a solid 9th-10th man, and takes a swing on the upside of Dick, while Toronto acquires a better defender who shot a career best last season from three, and saves money on the books.

The only reason Indiana would do this deal is if they believed in the upside of Dick being greater than what Sheppard has shown them. However, through three seasons, their stats are nearly identical, with points scored being the only outlier. Dick has 3.6 more points scored per game, but to Sheppard’s defense, he has also logged more minutes.

Player Three (Unlikely)

The last player I am going to bring up is someone I mentioned on an episode of Setting The Pace, and that is Cavaliers guard-forward, Max Strus.

Strus is entering the final year of his contract, but is a starter for a team in the Eastern Conference Finals.

He appeared in 12 games this season for the Cavaliers, and was productive when healthy. He shot 44.3% from the field, 40.2% from three-point, averaged 11.2 points, and logged 24 minutes per game.

He would be the Pacers Sixth Man, and provide them with 3-and-D capabilities, but also is someone who can put the ball on the floor, is a great offensive connector, and a secondary play maker.

Cleveland is operating as a team in the Second Apron, so a deal where they can shed about $5.4M in salary and acquire a younger wing would make sense.

The Deal

Indiana receives
-Max Strus
-No. 29 overall pick

Cleveland receives
-Jarace Walker
-Micah Potter
-2027 first-round pick (top-fourteen protected)

Cleveland swaps a late first-round pick in this year’s draft for a late first-round pick next year, hoping to get a higher pick than No. 29 and saving money on the 2026-27 books.

Indiana acquires a more reliable and experienced player in Strus, but they have to absorb just over $8M in salary in this proposed deal. This would put the Pacers less than $1M away from the First Apron, which means they would likely have to waive another player so they could sign their first-round pick without crossing into the First Apron.

This would make things extremely tight for the Paces finances, but you could replace Huff with Potter and Indiana would have roughly $3.5M to spend before entering into the First Apron threshold.

Final Thoughts

The Pacers give up the most in the Sacramento deal for Monk, but with his salary being so high, this is the only deal that would work from a financial perspective.

I think this deal makes the most sense because Monk seems very gettable, and Indiana would acquire a coveted early second-round pick, without sending out any future picks.

Strus is the best overall fit, but with how tight the finances would be for Indiana, the Pacers could use their resources in a better way. And there is no promise that the Cavaliers would be open to this type of deal.

Lastly, the most mediocre move is Sheppard for Dick. The Pacers have done a great job of targeting players who are underutilized in their current situation and providing them with opportunities to grow their game. With a championship in mind, this move doesn’t scream win-now, but it shouldn’t scare the Pacers away from making a low-risk trade.

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

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