Zach LaVine and Other 2020 Trade Targets for the Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers are stuck in no man’s land. They’re very good, they compete hard, they defend, and on any given night, they can match you offensively.

However, they’re not always consistent, they lack a true superstar, and they’re in the same division as the mighty Milwaukee Bucks. With the Eastern Conference as a whole getting stronger again going into next year, the time could be now for them to make a power play.

With that, here’s a look at 3 potential trades for the Indiana Pacers in 2020 that could vault them to the next level.

If you’re wondering who the Pacers could trade for going into next year, think offensive star. Indy was 23^rd in pace and 16^th in offensive efficiency this past season, so they could use a boost.

This one seems far-fetched at first glance, but consider this — Victor Oladipo never got completely right following his quad injury and is going to be demanding big money in short order.

LaVine isn’t cheap, and he brings a downgrade defensively, but he’s the more explosive scorer. He’s also three years younger than Dipo, so the Pacers could continue growing with an added offensive spark nudging their sometimes-lethargic offense.

Tired of losing in Chicago and facing a new regime, LaVine could be sent packing with the Bulls potentially wanting to start Coby White and hit the reset button as a whole.

Dipo for LaVine works financially, but the Bulls would likely require a little extra incentive to hand over such a high-upside scorer.

Who else should the Pacers trade for next year? How about KAT?

Yeah, this one is admittedly wild. However, Myles Turner has always been pretty inconsistent, and Indy needs something big to get them over the hump in the Eastern Conference.

If you’re going to butt heads with Giannis and KD, you need an elite talent capable of rising up. The Pacers could go out and get the disgruntled KAT, who is sick of losing and could ask for a trade out of town.

Are the Pacers the leading contender to trade for Towns? No, but they actually have a good package to give it a go.

Turner is a start, as he sends back a solid center the T’Wolves can replace Towns with. Goga Bitadze is a nice center prospect that can be part of the deal, too, while Doug McDermott is a nice bench shooter that makes the money work.

Throw in some picks, and you’ve got a good stew going.

Okay, we’ve gone even crazier. I think. But really, I can safely say I never anticipated Houston trading for Chris Paul and then turning right around and trading him away.

Neither of those things did I think would happen. Yet here we are.

Westbrook was brought in as one last attempt to appease James Harden and build the Rockets the way they needed to be built to give a championship a real try.

But what if it doesn’t work? It could be back to the drawing board for Houston, and suddenly, Westbrook would be shopped to the highest bidder.

As noted, it’s possible Indy is either souring on Oladipo or simply doesn’t want to invest big money in him. The team could make a play for Russ, slide Malcolm Brogdon to shooting guard, and hope their bigs can do the rest.

The deal that financially makes it work sends Oladipo and T.J. Warren (with whatever fodder you wish to include) to Houston. It honestly could make both teams better.

Indiana would then have to send over all of the draft picks.

This is a doable trade, and while a tough one to pull off, it could vault the Pacers from mere viable playoff threats to legit title contenders.

Honestly, probably nobody. Indy has a pretty good team as things stand, and it’s possible they’ll just keep growing it and hope they can take it to the next level.

They’d be wrong to believe that’s going to happen, but hey, crazier things have happened.

Indy could go bold and try to land KAT, LaVine, or Russ and still strike out. In doing any of that, though, they’d at least finally prove they’re really giving it their all.