On February 8th, the Indiana Pacers gave their franchise a jolt of energy when they acquired Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield from the Sacramento Kings in a blockbuster deal that sent Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday, and Jeremy Lamb to the Kings.
The trade itself is still shocking to many people despite happening two weeks ago. So far Indiana has reaped the rewards, from a statistical perspective, because Haliburton is excelling underneath Rick Carlisle.
- 2/11 vs Cleveland – 23 points, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds while shooting 4/6 beyond the arc
- 2/13 vs Minnesota – 22 points, 16 assists, and 5 rebounds with 6 triples
- 2/15 at Milwaukee – 17 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals
- 2/16 vs Washington (WIN) – 21 points, 14 assists, and 5 rebounds
NBA.com’s Beau Estes joined the Dan Dakich Show on Thursday and was asked by Jimmy Cook if it’s possible for two teams to win a trade despite both teams being bad teams as of right now.
“I have been looking at this as a win-win for both teams. I think Indiana picked off the best of the three young guards. For Sacramento, they’ve got their anchor now. Sabonis walks in as their best player in my mind because he’s better than De’Aaron Fox right now. If they get that ten slot from a Portland Trail Blazers team that is clearly not interested in winning, they’ve sat Jusuf Nurkic for a month now. I think Indiana is clearly playing for the future here. The early returns Haliburton has had for this team are really impressive. I think both teams can because they have different objectives.”
The roster for the Indiana Pacers all of a sudden looks athletic, young, and are exciting to watch. Chris Duarte (24), Myles Turner (25), Isaiah Jackson (20), Oshae Brissett (23), Duane Washington (21), and possibly Jalen Smith (21), if he resigns with the Pacers, are joined by a true point guard in Haliburton (21). The biggest question that fans, players, and members of the franchise have asked for years is, “How does this team look if 100% healthy?” Beau Estes weighs in.
“If you’re starting the season right now, with the pieces they have, if they’re 100% healthy, I think you got something if you’re Indiana. I think you can move up the standings. A lot of this is a health issue. If they get healthy, they’re going to have to make some decisions with their roster. If this team is healthy right now and they’re playing, then this is a winning basketball team. This is a team that could do something.”
You also have to face the reality that this current roster is 20-40 with 22 games left in the season. They have the 5th worst record in the NBA, trail the Oklahoma City Thunder by one game for the 4th worst record, and are four games in front of the Houston Rockets for the third worst record.
Follow the link below to listen to Jimmy Cook’s full conversation with Beau Estes!
https://omny.fm/shows/the-dan-dakich-show/best-of-the-dan-dakich-show-thursday-2-24-22
