Indiana Pacers: 5 crazy deadline deals the Pacers should try for

1. Kawhi returns to the team that drafted him

It’s no secret that Kawhi Leonard is at a strange and strained crossroads with the San Antonio Spurs organization. With recent reports that Kawhi’s camp feels disconnected with the team, it’s no surprise that pundits are drawing up trade scenarios left and right.

While a trade would seem less than likely, as the Spurs have historically stood pat at the deadline, a strong-arm deal with the Indiana Pacers could leave the Spurs with an incredibly talented young center in Myles Turner, and a player who fits the Spurs mold perfectly in Thaddeus Young.

Granted, this deal ranks the most far-fetched of these “crazy” deals, so the Pacers will need to be pretty aggressive with any offer, should the unlikely scenario play out that the Spurs actually split ways with Leonard.  Adding the upside of center Domantas Sabonis and a first round pick to the pot could at least provide the Spurs would enough motivation to consider the Pacers deal.

Meanwhile, Indiana would obviously get a top talent who paved the model for the two-way player criteria and can play co-star with Victor Oladipo in an exciting basketball town.

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On the other side, the Spurs would be getting both a now player in Thaddeus Young and a guy to carry the torch in Myles Turner. With the aging stars in San Antonio, this would provide the historic winning franchise with some great links to the future and a clean deal to see out the purported tension between the organization and Kawhi.