Pacers Acquire $20M All-Star in Massive Mock Trade Proposal

Matt Levine | 2 Hours Ago

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

After losing multiple big men to season-ending injuries, the Indiana Pacers have been searching around the league for frontcourt help. Indiana lost Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman to injury, leaving their frontcourt fairly thin behind Myles Turner.

Indiana has played extremely inconsistent to open the new year, in part due to them missing some players. The team has also seen multiple wing players go down, adding insult to injury.

But with the trade deadline coming up, the Pacers could be big players on the market. They will need help in the frontcourt if they want to reclaim the postseason magic from last season.

In a new proposed mock trade, Indiana lands the frontcourt depth that they have been searching for. While not ideal, the Pacers make a deal with the rival Chicago Bulls.

Here is what the proposed deal would look like:

Pacers receive: Center Nikola Vucevic

Bulls receive: Forward Obi Toppin, wing Jarace Walker, and a 2025 first-round draft pick

Chicago does this deal due to landing two wing players, with one in Walker who is still fairly young. They are in the middle of a rebuild themselves and Walker could provide them with a real punch.

The Bulls also land a first-round pick in exchange for their star center. They have been wanting to move him for a while and finally find a partner in Indiana.

Now, over to the Pacers side of things.

Indiana would land an All-Star caliber center in Vucevic to pair alongside Turner. The two could create a lethal offensive nightmare for opposing defenses due to their abilities to play inside and out.

Vucevic has been among the more steady All-Stars in the NBA over the past few years and Indiana could use his impact. The veteran big man could make the Pacers offense pop even more, giving them some extra credibility in the Eastern Conference.

The former USC Trojans product is owed $20 million this season and $21.1 million next season. He is on a team-friendly contract, making this a potentially cost-saving move for the Pacers.

Indiana has been very inconsistent to start the season but luckily, there is still plenty of time to turn things around. Adding a player like Vucevic could help them be much more formidable as true title contenders.

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