Indiana Pacers: The Pros And Cons Of Trading Paul George This Summer
Pro: Dealing With Bad Contracts
If the Pacers shudder at the thought of dealing George for less than his full value, they may try (again) to make him happy by drastically overhauling the roster over the summer. That’s a tough endeavor after bringing aboard longer contracts last summer, but it’s one path Bird could take.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to see how he could so drastically improve a roster with so many depreciating assets that hold little trade value on the open market.
Monta Ellis fell off a lot quicker than people expected; Jeff Teague is nowhere near the defender or perimeter shooter that George Hill was, and he’s also a free agent this summer; Al Jefferson is injured again and never panned out as the Sixth Man of the Year dark horse some thought he’d be; Thaddeus Young has been consistent but mediocre; and as much as Myles Turner looks like the future of the franchise, he’s not ready to be PG-13’s superstar sidekick in just his second season.
Indiana Pacers
Lineups with Teague, PG-13 and Young boast a +2.2 Net Rating, per NBA.com, so they could re-sign Teague if they don’t get carried away with his new contract. Letting Teague walk and wooing a replacement like Chris Paul, George Hill or Jrue Holiday sounds nice on paper, but those may be unrealistic targets and even if the Pacers got one of them, they wouldn’t address the roster’s other glaring flaws because those players would eat through major cap space.
Conversely, if Indiana decides to trade its superstar and commit to a full-scale rebuild, it’s not as vital to shed all the deadweight contracts like Ellis and Jefferson. The Pacers could let Teauge walk, but they have to field a 15-man roster somehow while they’re tanking; why not keep mediocre veterans who could instruct the younger players without leading to wins?
Young and Ellis can opt out of their contracts in 2018, and even if they keep their player options to remain in Indiana, that’s only 1-2 years before they’re off the books. Jefferson’s deal is non-guaranteed for the 2018-19 season, putting him in a similar boat.
With Teague hitting free agency and C.J. Miles able to opt out of his contract this summer, the Pacers could have a drastically different roster one or two years down the road. Rather than rushing to restructure the team to suit Paul George’s interests in yet another failed endeavor to assemble a contender, trading him and letting those contracts come off the books in due time might be a more sensical path.