I think I speak for most Pacers fans when I say that last season was one of the best I’ve ever witnessed. The NBA cup. The Nembhard shot. The conference finals run. The list goes on for a while. I also think I speak for most fans when I say the 24-25 season so far is oh so close to sending me into a deep, void-like spiraling depression. My heart really can’t handle another loss to the Hornets where Haliburton shoots two for nine billion and our entire team collectively forgets how to shoot a layup that most fifth graders could make. It also really can’t handle when the team will go right from one game where it seemed like they thought it was supposed to be a cardio workout to winning a commanding, glorious blowout against the defending champions. It’s obvious something needs to change, but what? Allow me to present you with a few options.

Before we start talking trades, we need to establish some ground rules. First off, our four untouchables are Haliburton, Siakam, Mathurin, and McConnell. Siakam hopefully shouldn’t need too much explanation: he’s a phenomenal player and his fit is perfect with the team. Mathurin is a young, talented, multi-level scorer that’s been a product of the Pacers since day one. McConnell is a genuine contender for sixth man of the year, and he has been for a few years now. He also provides a much needed voice in the locker room, and is really the heart and soul of the team. As far as Haliburton goes, I have seen a few people wanting to trade him, but frankly I think that’s rash at best. I know that I just was bashing Haliburton, and he has had a vast share of shooting slumps, but when he’s not cold, he’s a top two point guard in the East, arguably the number one. Additionally, while his shooting has been inconsistent at best, his ability to be the engine of a good offense rarely wavers. This leads me into the Pacers’ needs. Our first option is to trade for another scorer so that they can take the scoring load off of Haliburton and utilize his playmaking ability. Alternatively, we can remove the fight for starting shooting guard by trading Nembhard away in order to allow Mathurin, one of the best pure scorers on the team, more time to get hot. Secondly, the Pacers are in dire need of a backup big. With literally our entire center core (besides Myles Turner) out, the Pacers have had a very obvious weakness at center that teams have been able to exploit. We need to plug this hole. Additionally, we need a versatile, defensive wing. The Pacers have been one of the worst defensive teams for a while now. It worked out fine last season when we held the top offense in the league, but now that the other shoe is dropped, we need to balance out the team. A versatile and defensive wing could make up for Haliburton’s frankly vomit-inducing defense, and provide the most defensive impact on the team. Finally, when we consider trades, we need to consider team states. The Celtics and the Thunder aren’t trading any of their major rotational players, plain and simple: they are strong contenders and there is zero point in disrupting chemistry. Teams like the Grizzlies or the Magic are going to want pieces that can make them win now, not young development projects or a boatload of picks. Conversely, teams like the Nets or the Trailblazers likely will want some young development projects and picks, and reject most win-now pieces, since they want to enter a rebuild or a development period. With all of that background out of the way, let’s get to the trades. 

The first trade should be a relatively easy one to accomplish: a trade for Haywood Highsmith. The full trade details are as follows: Isaiah Jackson to the Heat in return for Haywood Highsmith and two unprotected Heat first-round picks from 2029 and 2031, respectively. The Heat do this because they are in win-now mode in order to capitalize on the rapidly fading prime of Jimmy Butler, and they have a dire need for centers. They’re willing to give up picks for cheap, because they aren’t going to be rebuilding for the foreseeable future, especially with Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo still relatively young. The Pacers do this because while Haywood Highsmith might not necessarily be a starting-caliber forward, he can still absolutely fill a lot of that defensive need. Additionally, if you saw the Heat-Pacers game a while ago, you know he can turn up the scoring on the Pacers’ court just fine. Further, we gain two picks that can be used in future trades, which is always a powerful persuasion tool. 

Next trade, we need to fill the lack of a backup center, and I’m going to fix this problem with Robert Williams III of the Portland Trail Blazers. In trading for Williams, the Pacers would give the Blazers Aaron Nesmith, Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, James Johnson, and a 2028 first rounder. I think this is a rare case of a win-win for both teams. The Blazers have a massive logjam at the center position with Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, and Robert Williams III. Ayton is the clear starter, while Clingan will likely align much more with the Blazer’s current philosophy of developing players. Since Williams has historically struggled with the power forward position as a big defender and glass cleaner, this puts the Blazers in an awkward position. The Pacers alleviate this problem while also gifting three young talents, a somewhat soon first rounder, and one of the best veterans in the league in terms of leadership. The Blazers get even closer to their goals of having a young team they can develop and remove the logjam at center, while the Pacers fix their problem at center with what would likely become one of the best center cores in the league, especially once Wiseman comes back next season. I think this one is a no-brainer for both teams. 

The next trade will be a bit of killing two birds with one stone; albeit none of these players will completely fill the void: I propose we trade for Kevin Huerter and Alex Len while giving up Aaron Nesmith and Ben Sheppard, and an unprotected first. Kevin Huerter is a very solid scorer who is very comfortable with getting solid small forward minutes, while Alex Len is actually one of the best centers in the league for defense, statistically. Trading for this pair attempts to fix both of our problems. While Kevin Huerter probably isn’t enough to fix all of our small forward problems, we can get the two players for relatively cheap. If the Pacers management decides to play it safe with trades, I think this is the one they should pull.

For the last trade, I’m going to go big by trading for Brandon Ingram from the Pelicans. The Pelicans would give the Pacers Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy III, Jose Alvarado, and a 2026 unprotected first rounder in return for the Pelicans getting Obi Toppin, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Isaiah Jackson, and James Johnson. This trade does a few things. First off, it gives us the obvious advantage of having an all-star candidate at starting small forward who can also put up big points and defend with some versatility. This gives the Pacers the starting lineup of Haliburton, Mathurn, Ingram, Siakam, and Turner, with TJ McConnell as sixth man. I think this is a legitimate championship caliber lineup, and the fit works really well. The one bad part about this trade is emptying our bench fairly significantly  by trading away Obi Toppin, Andrew Nembhard, and a few other semi-rotational players. We can soften the blow a little bit by getting Trey Murphy and Jose Alvarado, the latter of which might be one of the most underrated players in the league (if you don’t believe me, look up Grand Theft Alvarado and enjoy). I could even see Johnny Furphy being able to step up to getting real rotational minutes, especially given Carlisle’s recent praise of the rookie. We would definitely have to shorten the rotation quite a bit, but I think it’s worth it to get Brandon Ingram. Further, this trade shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish seeing as how the Pelicans are the very worst team in the league as of the writing of this article. It’s obvious the Zion idea hasn’t been working, and I’ll bet the Pelicans management is eager to cut their losses and start a rebuild. They can accomplish that with this trade by gaining a plethora of young players. This does naturally raise the question about why they would give up a pick so soon, but when you look at the trade, I think we need that pick to make things more fair, since we’re giving up both Toppin and Nembhard (though I personally would take the trade without it). Finally, by giving up Nembhard, we remove the logjam at Shooting Guard and give Bennedict Mathurin full control over the starting position, allowing him to develop even more and do what he does best. The other two trades can certainly help us into launching a deep playoff run, but I think this Ingram trade alone would set us up for a joyous April.

While I think the Pacers might be able to save the season by themselves, it’s obvious that something needs to be done, and I think that these trades are by far the best way to do it. Whatever the case, I’ll definitely be the first person you see wildly yelling out in joy when the Pacers make their inevitable playoff run.