Pacers are looking to rebuild

[DNatagal]

The problem is how much of the roster will it take to fill any trade being made? The Wolves are fairly top-heavy on their roster with only Beasley ($14.5M) and Prince ($13M) are what I would consider easily tradeable salaries. Everyone else that the board would love to trade have very low salary cap hits, Okogie ($4M), Layman ($4M), McDaniels ($2M), Bolmaro ($2.4M), NAZ ($1.8M), Eye Chart ($1.8M), McLaughlin ($2M but cannot be traded until Jan 15). Great teams have cheap contracts with good players to fill those bottom spots. I count McDaniels, Bolmaro, and Naz as these types of contracts. They are not all-stars, but they are rotation players.

But who would say no to this trade?

Indiana gets Beasley and Okogie and 2022 1st pick
Wolves get Sabonis

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I think Sabonis is a fantastic player. He could play either PF next to KAT or Center next to any combination of others. How much does he solve this team's problems offensively? Not much I'm afraid. I also don't think we have a compelling enough player to return to Indiana.

Actually I think a passing big man that can actually set proper screens would be VERY valuable to this team.
Your point about not having trade value is my biggest concern. We have all of our picks, but we would have to give up Jaden for sure and he is only making $2M.

Perhaps so. I'm just not convinced he can unlock the offense. I do agree his screening would be valuable but he can't make guys hit their 3-point attempts. May be his screening helps lead to more open 3s.

[AbeVigodaLive]

The problem is how much of the roster will it take to fill any trade being made? The Wolves are fairly top-heavy on their roster with only Beasley ($14.5M) and Prince ($13M) are what I would consider easily tradeable salaries. Everyone else that the board would love to trade have very low salary cap hits, Okogie ($4M), Layman ($4M), McDaniels ($2M), Bolmaro ($2.4M), NAZ ($1.8M), Eye Chart ($1.8M), McLaughlin ($2M but cannot be traded until Jan 15). Great teams have cheap contracts with good players to fill those bottom spots. I count McDaniels, Bolmaro, and Naz as these types of contracts. They are not all-stars, but they are rotation players.

Bolmaro hasn't proven to be a rotation player.

And there are major questions whether a team would consider McDaniels a rotation player either. Maybe eventually. But stagnation or a step back in year 2 isn't the best sign.



[Note: I was wrong about the Pacers. I really thought they would be able to put things together with Carlisle and better health.]

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I think Sabonis is a fantastic player. He could play either PF next to KAT or Center next to any combination of others. How much does he solve this team's problems offensively? Not much I'm afraid. I also don't think we have a compelling enough player to return to Indiana.

Actually I think a passing big man that can actually set proper screens would be VERY valuable to this team.
Your point about not having trade value is my biggest concern. We have all of our picks, but we would have to give up Jaden for sure and he is only making $2M.

This isn't directed at you, and I'm not meaning to upset anyone here, but can we as a fan base collectively stop talking about Jaden McDaniels like he's some blue chipper or highly-regarded prospect? I empathized with it over the summer, but he hasn't taken that sophomore step like many of us expected him to.

McDaniels has some tantalizing physical features and plays well defensively when he's not racking up personal fouls. In theory, he's got a high ceiling, but the reality might be that he'll never be the player most want him to be. He may not even be a Mikal Bridges or Robert Covington type player, and those guys are real difference-makers. If he's part of the price for someone legitimate -- an All-Star, for instance -- then we should not be hesitant to make such a deal.

McDaniels has been a disappointment so far this year. Yet another one of our players that seems incapable of developing on one end of the court (in his case, offense). Him, Prince, Okogie, and Beasley have been mostly disasters this season. Seems like Beasley and Prince are coming around a bit finally, but our bench on the whole really sucks.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The problem is how much of the roster will it take to fill any trade being made? The Wolves are fairly top-heavy on their roster with only Beasley ($14.5M) and Prince ($13M) are what I would consider easily tradeable salaries. Everyone else that the board would love to trade have very low salary cap hits, Okogie ($4M), Layman ($4M), McDaniels ($2M), Bolmaro ($2.4M), NAZ ($1.8M), Eye Chart ($1.8M), McLaughlin ($2M but cannot be traded until Jan 15). Great teams have cheap contracts with good players to fill those bottom spots. I count McDaniels, Bolmaro, and Naz as these types of contracts. They are not all-stars, but they are rotation players.

Bolmaro hasn't proven to be a rotation player.

And there are major questions whether a team would consider McDaniels a rotation player either. Maybe eventually. But stagnation or a step back in year 2 isn't the best sign.



[Note: I was wrong about the Pacers. I really thought they would be able to put things together with Carlisle and better health.]

...but look at their expected Win-Loss total. It would make even a Wolves fan blush. I mean, their record isn't representative of their talent. They basically lose almost every game that goes to OT or ends with a 4-point or less differential. And they don't even have Ricky Rubio to blame!

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

But who would say no to this trade?

Indiana gets Beasley and Okogie and 2022 1st pick
Wolves get Sabonis

Replace Okogie with one of McDaniels/Vanderbilt/Reid and add another first-round pick (total of two) and that's what we're realistically looking at for Sabonis, I think.

Use the Nikola Vucevic trade as the bar.

[kekgeek]

But who would say no to this trade?

Indiana gets Beasley and Okogie and 2022 1st pick
Wolves get Sabonis

Replace Okogie with one of McDaniels/Vanderbilt/Reid and add another first-round pick (total of two) and that's what we're realistically looking at for Sabonis, I think.

Use the Nikola Vucevic trade as the bar.

Exactly use Vucevic as a solid bar on what it would take to get sabonis. 2 future top 5 protected picks, plus Beasley to get the trade done.

[thedoper]

I think Sabonis is a fantastic player. He could play either PF next to KAT or Center next to any combination of others. How much does he solve this team's problems offensively? Not much I'm afraid. I also don't think we have a compelling enough player to return to Indiana.

Actually I think a passing big man that can actually set proper screens would be VERY valuable to this team.
Your point about not having trade value is my biggest concern. We have all of our picks, but we would have to give up Jaden for sure and he is only making $2M.

This isn't directed at you, and I'm not meaning to upset anyone here, but can we as a fan base collectively stop talking about Jaden McDaniels like he's some blue chipper or highly-regarded prospect? I empathized with it over the summer, but he hasn't taken that sophomore step like many of us expected him to.

McDaniels has some tantalizing physical features and plays well defensively when he's not racking up personal fouls. In theory, he's got a high ceiling, but the reality might be that he'll never be the player most want him to be. He may not even be a Mikal Bridges or Robert Covington type player, and those guys are real difference-makers. If he's part of the price for someone legitimate -- an All-Star, for instance -- then we should not be hesitant to make such a deal.

Yeah I think if we could build a Beasley/McDaniels deal for Sabonis it would be an absolute no brainer for me.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

With the emergence of Jarred Vanderbilt as the starting four, the continued excellence from Naz Reid, and obviously the All-NBA level talent of Karl-Anthony Towns, I really do feel like the Wolves just need one competent, big-bodied center to complement that group. They're missing one in that group and the answer isn't Nathan Knight. That big doesn't have to be anything special to make an impact when he's on the floor, however. There are a number of these bigs that should be available that could be acquired for relatively little.

On the other hand, I do feel like the Wolves need more help on the perimeter. I really don't think they've had consistent wing play all year. Anthony Edwards is 20-years old so inconsistency is almost expected from him, but he's been mostly good. Outside of him there's been Malik Beasley, Taurean Prince, and Jaden McDaniels -- all of which are nightly wildcards. You really don't know what you're getting from them on a game-to-game basis. That's problematic, I feel. Not to mention, that's basically one productive wing out of the five or six on the team. This seems like the much bigger hole on the roster.

[FNG]

I think Sabonis is a fantastic player. He could play either PF next to KAT or Center next to any combination of others. How much does he solve this team's problems offensively? Not much I'm afraid. I also don't think we have a compelling enough player to return to Indiana.

Actually I think a passing big man that can actually set proper screens would be VERY valuable to this team.
Your point about not having trade value is my biggest concern. We have all of our picks, but we would have to give up Jaden for sure and he is only making $2M.

This isn't directed at you, and I'm not meaning to upset anyone here, but can we as a fan base collectively stop talking about Jaden McDaniels like he's some blue chipper or highly-regarded prospect? I empathized with it over the summer, but he hasn't taken that sophomore step like many of us expected him to.

McDaniels has some tantalizing physical features and plays well defensively when he's not racking up personal fouls. In theory, he's got a high ceiling, but the reality might be that he'll never be the player most want him to be. He may not even be a Mikal Bridges or Robert Covington type player, and those guys are real difference-makers. If he's part of the price for someone legitimate -- an All-Star, for instance -- then we should not be hesitant to make such a deal.

Yeah I think if we could build a Beasley/McDaniels deal for Sabonis it would be an absolute no brainer for me.

Me too, doper...I really like Sabonis's game. But we have to ask why Indy would have any interest in that deal, even if we threw in multiple picks. Sabonis has been an all-star the last two years, and it's unlikely the Pacers would give him up for two reserves. The article says they are willing to rebuild, but they also say the owner is not willing to fall out of the playoffs. And if Sabonis were traded, they're not going to make the playoffs with Isaiah Jackson as their new starting PF. They have some concerns about the viability of a Turner/Sabonis pairing, I get that. But I think what they really want is what some of us want...a KAT/Turner pairing. I would think the asking price for a young 2-time all-star like Sabonis would be more like KAT (also a 2-time all-star) than 2 bench players. And I doubt that anyone here would like that deal.