NBA Trades: 3 Indiana Pacers trades to kickstart a much-needed rebuild
By Jack Simone
NBA trades to help the Indiana Pacers begin a rebuild: Caris LeVert trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves
Pacers receive: Taurean Prince, Josh Okogie, Jaylen Nowell, 2022 First-Round Pick (Top-Five Protected), 2025 First-Round Pick
Timberwolves receive: Caris LeVert, Justin Holiday
The Minnesota Timberwolves should be absolutely desperate to make the playoffs at this point. They made it once a few years ago with Jimmy Butler, but let’s be honest, that didn’t really count for much.
They have a solid trio in Minnesota with Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and D’Angelo Russell, but they have no scoring elsewhere on the roster. That is where Caris LeVert would come in.
LeVert is the perfect player to be the fourth man on a playoff team. He would provide great scoring for when the Timberwolves need to rest their core guys.
Meanwhile, the team would also add Justin Holiday, a shooter who would provide help on defense as well. This would immensely improve their depth.
For Pacers fans, this is likely the least appealing of the three NBA trades in this article. However, the value is not in the players, but in the picks.
Josh Okogie and Jaylen Nowell could be decent projects, and Tauren Prince is just there for filler, but those picks have the value. We all saw what happened the last time the Timberwolves traded their first, so who’s to say that can’t happen again?
What if in two years, Towns gets sick of losing and decides to leave? His contract is up at the end of the 2023-24 season. That 2025 first-rounder would immediately have the potential to jump into the top ten.
Meanwhile, what if LeVert isn’t enough to drag them out of the gutter this season? Their pick could easily still fall in the lottery in a strong Western Conference.
This trade would really be thinking about the future for the Indiana Pacers. It may not be too appealing at first glance, but the value is there.