The Indiana Pacers finally get Deandre Ayton
For the Indiana Pacers, they get a player who they liked last year in free agency enough to sign to a large offer sheet before Phoenix matched. Ayton also likely aligns slightly better with the timeline of their young core headlined by Tyrese Haliburton (22 years old) and Bennedict Mathurin (20). The core also includes the likes of Aaron Nesmith (23), Andrew Nembhard (23), Jalen Smith (22), and Isaiah Jackson (21). Plus you can add in whoever Indiana drafts at No. 7 overall in this year’s draft to that young core.
The Pacers obviously liked Ayton enough last year to extend him the offer sheet. While they might want to try and bring in Ayton to potentially pair with Turner, I do believe that this trade makes sense with pairing Ayton with their young and promising backcourt (even if it means losing Turner).
With Ayton and their pick at No. 7, the Pacers would have one of the best young cores in the NBA. While it might be easy to only view the negatives on Ayton, he still brings a lot of positives and skill to the table. For instance, Ayton would give the Pacers an enticing pick-and-role partner to pair with Haliburton long-term.