Tank Tank Or Tank Tank Tank?

My trade offer for a while has been Randle, Clarkson and Top 3 pick for PG. While I won't dispute that it might be too much given the situation, I don't view that in any way as "gutting" the team when the team still keep it's best 3 talents in BI/DAR/Zubac and still has depth at PF with Nance Jr./Deng and that Clarkson is a backup.

In the end, I don't see Indy trading PG before the draft unless he demands a trade. Otherwise Indiana will do everything they can to keep him by building around him. I wouldn't put it past them to have a good offseason. They went out and got Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young, Al Jefferson, Aaron Brooks, Jeremy Evans, Kevin Seraphin this past offseason. Granted it hasn't all worked out but point is that's a FO that can make moves. If they are going to just throw in the towel and trade him for peanuts, then they'll do it at the trade deadline.

 

Randle, Clarkson + Hou 1st or Russell, Deng + Hou 1st. That's it.

Otherwise, I'd keep rolling with the young guns because PG by alone wouldn't really change much in the stacked West. We would still need assets to pull in another star if we want to make having PG here worth while.

 

Which moves were bad?

They traded George Hill to get Jeff Teague, who is younger by 2 years and has had the better season (15.5ppg 4.2rpg 8.1apg)
They gave up a late 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick to get Thaddeus Young, who was coming off a 15.1ppg 9rpg 51.4fg% season in BKN
The Mavs gave Jeremy Evans to Indy for free in a salary dump
Aaron Brooks, Kevin Seraphin were cheap 1 year deals

The only questionable move was Al Jefferson for 3 years 30 million but just add them to the list of teams who gave out questionable big men contracts. At least Jefferson is a rotation player for them.

 

I personally think it's a lowball offer, but that's what Magic has to do to Larry. He has the leverage and shouldn't overpay for someone who's insisted on coming here anyway.

 

The team is 31-29 and 2nd in their division and headed for a playoff spot. They actually lost their final 6 games heading into the AS break, where they were coincidentally without Young. Teague and Young are starters and their 3rd/4th best players behind PG/Turner - and the cost to acquire them was cheap. Jefferson, Brooks and Seraphin are rotation players. I can't speak on their identity but I don't see evidence that the guys they acquired don't fit and don't work together. 31-29 may not be amazing but it's not like they've utterly bombed like other busy teams like the Pelicans or Magic. I suppose we can debate right now how well those moves have panned out but I don't recall everyone knowing these moves were bad during the offseason.

I don't know what they can do to vastly improve. If I did, I'd be in an NBA front office rather than an office in the 3rd floor of an Insurance building. They have cap space. They have draft picks. They can do stuff. What? I don't know but they'll do something. I'm just saying that this is a FO that has shown a willingness and ability to shake things up and that their first priority is to do what they can to keep PG versus trading him, especially for a lowball offer. We can sit here and talk how much leverage the Lakers have all we want but the Pacers' approach with the C Bags and their high demands are clear evidence they are not going to sell PG cheap period. Not until they really have to and that's not coming until a trade demand or closer to the deadline.

 

Heck if I know.

I just fully believe their Plan A, B and C is "Do whatever it takes to keep PG from demanding a trade to the Lakers and only trade him when we absolutely have to"

I'm rooting for them to fail spectacularly at whatever plans they concoct.

 

That's what I've been saying all along though, that I don't see Indy trading PG unless he demands a trade (or basically says he isn't going to re-sign, which is the same thing as he is essentially saying "You guys should probably trade me"). As long as he still has one foot in the door, they're going to do what they can to pull him back in before pushing him out and only trade him when they've exhausted all options. Kind of like Denver holding on to Melo all the way until the trade deadline before his free agency when it was well-known he wasn't re-signing with them.

 

We need to trade for pg.....we seen what happens with the "we will just sign him in fa" mantra over and over