Pacers Predicted to Target Highly Coveted Center in Blockbuster Trade Proposal
![Mar 15, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) blocks the shot of Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Mar 15, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) blocks the shot of Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2884,h_1622,x_0,y_96/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_pacers/01jj5hj3vrcp7bhv1n5d.jpg)
The Indiana Pacers are one of the hottest teams as we reach the halfway mark of the season.
The Pacers are giving fans and the team hope they can be the team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season.
Indiana entered this season with much optimism, and this recent stretch of games has only added to that.
The Pacers have been the hottest team over their last 18 games. In that stretch, they have gone 14-4 and rank sixth in offense, fifth in defense, and fifth in net rating.
The Pacers are finding their groove; however, it is clear that they need to make a move to bolster their roster if they want to seriously compete in the Eastern Conference.
In this hypothetical trade, the Pacers shore up their forecourt, getting much bigger and younger, adding one to the more highly coveted players this trade deadline, Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler.
Pacers receive: Walker Kessler, John Collins
Jazz receive: Myles Turner, Jarace Walker, a 2027 first-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick.
The Pacers not only get Kessler, who is the big prize in this deal, but they also get Collins, who is averaging 17.9 points per game and has a player option at the end of the season.
Indiana would love to shore up their frontcourt by adding another big man next to Turner, but with one year left on his deal, it's unclear if he would stay beyond this season.
Turner is in the final year of his two-year $40 million deal.
The 28-year-old is a Pacers original draft pick from the 2015 NBA Draft. The Pacers selected him with the No. 11 overall pick for the University of Texas.
As for Kessler, he is having the best year of his career thus far, averaging 11.1 points per game, 11.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks while shooting 72.3 percent from the field in 33 games and 29.8 minutes.
This potential move would make the Pacers much younger and give them a piece that would be a phenomenal fit with their other young stars, such as Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, and Bennedict Mathurin.
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