Blockbuster Pacers Trade Proposal Has Them Move on From Tyrese Haliburton For Massive Haul

Matt Levine | Jan 3, 2025

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers haven't quite lived up to the hype that surrounded them entering the NBA season. Following a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers have seemingly taken a step back in terms of contention.

This has led many to believe that they will be active ahead of the NBA trade deadline next spring. In this new trade scenario, Indiana builds for the future and moves on from star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.

After studying the CBA and using the Spotrac trade machine, here is how a deal could look. It would be between the Pacers and the San Antonio Spurs.

Pacers receive: Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle, Malaki Branham, Blake Wesley, a 2025 first-round draft pick, a 2026 first-round draft pick, a 2029 first-round draft pick, a 2031 first-round draft pick, and a 2028 second-round draft pick

Spurs receive: Tyrese Haliburton

This would be a matter of San Antonio going all-in around their second-year star Victor Wembanyama. Adding a player like Haliburton could massively help the Spurs ascend in the Western Conference and they would be giving up a haul to land him.

As for Indiana, this move would be the team giving up on Haliburton as the No. 1 star on the roster. This would be them selling high on him and receiving a large return for his services.

At this point, Indiana may consider moving Pascal Siakam as well. But the biggest issue here is that the Pacers normally aren't ones for entering into rebuilds.

But in the event that the front office decided to do this, the package from the Spurs could make it worthwhile. Landing a young star in Castle could be beneficial for the Pacers. He has emerged this year with San Antonio and has been one of the best, if not the best, rookies in his draft class.

Johnson could give Indiana a nice wing option to work with while Branham could also give strong minutes on the floor. But the icing on the cake here would be all the draft picks coming to the Pacers.

Indiana would be set up very nicely for a long time and they could completely rebuild this team to potentially dominant. While the current iteration of the Pacers is decent, the likelihood of them getting past a team like the Boston Celtics or even the New York Knicks is low.

This trade idea isn't likely to happen but could be a desperate move for Indiana if things continue to go against them.

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