The Indiana Pacers could emerge as sellers by the NBA Trade Deadline
The Indiana Pacers could retool the roster in-season.
Even after hiring Rick Carlisle during the offseason as the team’s next head coach, there’s still no clear direction for the Indiana Pacers. At least not when it comes to the way their roster has been built over the last few seasons.
There are already multiple players on this roster that have seen themselves linked via the trade rumor mill and three of the team’s key rotation players (Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner, and Caris LeVert) become free agents after the 2022-23 season.
If the Pacers wanted to pivot away from their current build, it’s not outlandish to say that they could do that this season. There are only two players on the current rosters that have guaranteed contracts beyond the 2022-23 season, and that’s Domantas Sabonis and T.J. McConnell.
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
- NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting point guards for 2023-24
And if the Pacers get off to a slow start, perhaps Carlisle gives the front office the go-ahead to begin to field offers on several of their players. Plus, considering that the Pacers just added a new coach, there’s generally at least some turnover.
Carlisle could want his imprint on this roster. And there’s no guarantee that the players that the Pacers have compiled over the last few seasons are ones that he believes he could win with.
As the season quickly approaches, the Pacers are one team that should be kept an eye on as a candidate that could potentially be quite busy at the NBA Trade Deadline. And that feeling can’t be any stronger than it is now, especially after the Pacers missed the playoffs last season after making it five years in a row and nine times in the last 10.
Indiana has a few players that would be great role players on contending teams, but I’m not sure this team has any players that should be No. 1 or No. 2 options. That’s the biggest issue with this team’s roster at the moment.
And being in no man’s land – where they’re not good enough to make the playoffs but also not bad enough to secure a top 5 pick – is not where Indiana needs to be right now.
Next. NBA: A way-too-early deep dive into the 2021-22 MVP award race. dark
Either Carlisle is able to take this roster to the next level or it might be time for a major roster shakeup for the Pacers.