New Trade Proposal Sees Pacers Reshape Roster With East Rival

In this trade proposal, the Pacers move on from one of their young players for more depth and draft capital.

Dec 27, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle watches from the sideline as they take on the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are playing like an average team this season. They look nothing like the team that made the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago. One trade proposal would see them acknowledge that fact and trade a player who wasn't part of that late-season run.

Pacers Receive: Kelly Oubre Jr., Ricky Council IV, 2026 First-Round Pick (via OKC), 2027 Second-Round Pick, 2031 Second-Round Pick (via Mavericks)

76ers Receive: Benedict Mathurin

In this scenario, the Pacers get someone who is more reliable on the defensive end of the court and someone who makes quicker decisions. The rub with Mathurin has been that he holds onto the ball too much. He doesn't make quick decisions like the rest of the roster does.

That style of play is at odds with how Rick Carlisle wants this team to play. While that has improved a bit this season, there are still too many times when he's holding the ball for three or more seconds before he decides to either dribble, pass, or shoot the ball.

When the Pacers made their run to the East Finals a year ago, Mathurin was not part of it because he suffered a torn Labrum in early March against the Mavericks. That required him to have surgery and ended his season before Indiana was able to get hot down the stretch.

Trading him now would be an acknowledgment that he doesn't fit with the current roster and how they play. If they do decide to part ways with him, Aaron Nesmith needs to be healthy first. He has played in just six games this season and clearly means more to this team than people realize.

Adding a first-round pick and a couple of second-round picks would allow the Pacers to help replace Mathurin, who is a solid scorer off the bench. That's clearly where he thrives the most. For Philadelphia, he becomes someone off the bench who can unleash a lot of firepower.

This trade proposal is unlikely to happen. If the Pacers were to move on for Mathurin, they would need a more impactful player in return than Kelly Oubre Jr. or Ricky Council IV. They would need a guy who can be relied on off the bench to score and defend at a high level.

Mathurin has hit a slump in the last couple of weeks. Indiana needs him to play better.

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