Indiana Pacers: What we can learn from the Darren Collison trade rumors

The Indiana Pacers figured to have a quiet deadline, but out of nowhere Darren Collison’s name popped up. Here’s a look at what the team might be thinking.

NBA trade deadline week is like a middle school dance. Everyone in the room wants to make out with someone, but most of the time the person you like doesn’t like you or vice versa. As a result, a bunch of eager pre-teens — and overambitious general managers — usually go home disappointed.

You might have missed the ultra-conservative Indiana Pacers in this analogy…they’re the quiet kid in the corner mostly keeping to himself. The dance is almost over and suddenly Betsy, the seventh grader who looks like she should be filling out college applications, is sauntering over to strike up a conversation. Who knew?

This was the reaction many had after seeing Darren Collison‘s name pop in Sam Amick’s recent trade deadline preview for USA Today. Amick noted that the Denver Nuggets were the party interested in the Pacers’ starting point guard:

"According to two people with knowledge of the situation, they have serious interest in the Indiana Pacers’ Darren Collison (12.8 points, 5.3 assists per game as a starter) but have, thus far, been rebuffed. Collison, whose Pacers (28-23) are fighting to hold onto a playoff spot, has a team option worth $10 million on his deal for next season."

In his own trade deadline preview on Monday, ESPN‘s Zach Lowe added on to the report, stating that the Nuggets’ primary interest is to shed salary for next season while bettering the team’s playoff chances this year. He also wrote that Collison may not be the only Pacers point guard that Denver has interest in:

"They’ve also kicked the tires on Cory Joseph, league sources say, but Joseph has a $7.9 million player option for next season. Only $2 million of Collison’s deal is guaranteed. Unless they know Joseph will decline that option — hard to tell — the salary difference matters to Denver."

The fact that these reports surfaced at all likely means that Indiana is at least listening. They have good reason to do so.

Perfectly decent

This season was always supposed to be a rebuilding one for the Pacers. The fact that they’ve vaulted themselves into the bottom of the East playoff picture thanks to the emergence of Victor Oladipo as a legitimate two-way star is icing on the cake.

Collison and Joseph have both been solid contributors who have aided in the effort, but neither figures to be a part of the team’s long-term core. True, Collison is criminally underrated. According to CleaningTheGlass.com, this is the fourth season in a row his team has been better with him on the court, made all the more impressive by the fact that the last three came in Sacramento.

He is also 30 years old. The Pacers figure to seek an upgrade at the position at some point in the near future anyway, so dealing him now makes some sense.

As for Joseph, he’s the textbook definition of a solid backup. That has real value in the league, evinced by the fact that Lowe states he could opt out of a nearly $8 million option in a very dry market league-wide. Still, like Collison, if the Pacers were offered anything of value, they’d have to at least consider it.

Forward thinking

Whether or not Indiana trades either of their point guards is less interesting than what the possibility of such a move says about their organizational outlook. By no means would a trade torpedo their chances this season. Lance Stephenson figures to serve as the backup point guard now that Collison is out for a few weeks, and he would likely be fine in that role for the rest of the year. It would definitely make the team worse in the interim though.

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Anything less than the playoffs would have to be considered a disappointment at this point for the Pacers (they are currently 2.5 games clear of ninth) but maybe these talks are an indication that the organization is willing to take one step back in order to take two steps forward.

Many teams in the NBA operate under this mindset — we’re about to enter the home stretch of Tankathon 2018 — but it would be quite a change of course for Indiana. The front office was notoriously patient in trading Paul George, and even though they’re thrilled with the deal now, observers thought they could have done much better in February of 2017 or even the previous summer.

The decision to hold off on a George move came with Larry Bird in charge. Bird, of course, stepped down as president of basketball operations in May, turning the reins over to Kevin Pritchard. Perhaps the current trade rumors are an indication that Pritchard plans to exercise a more aggressive long-term strategy, even if it means sacrificing wins this season or even next year.

Next: 2018 NBA Draft big board: End of January

We’ll all find out in the next 48 hours. In the meantime, don’t expect any big names coming Indiana’s way in an effort to bolster the teams’ chances this year. Pacers fans don’t figure to complain one bit.

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