- The trade that sent Victor Oladipo from the Thunder to the Pacers appears to have motivated the 25-year-old, even if he doesn’t say so himself. “He’s come into the season with confidence, I think, to prove himself,” head coach Nate McMillan told Buddy Grizzard of Basketball Insiders. “After a couple moves from Orlando to OKC and then to Indy, there was a lot of conversation out there that the Pacers didn’t get enough in that trade. I think he is proving to the league that he does have talent. We are still learning what he’s capable of.“
- The Pacers have recalled T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu from the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced in a press release. Leaf averaged 23.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in three contests with the affiliate squad.
The NBA’s trade market was incredibly active throughout the 2017 offseason, with a total of 40 deals completed between the end of last season and the start of the 2017/18 campaign.
Of those 40 trades, several were blockbusters. Kyrie Irving, Isaiah Thomas, Chris Paul, Paul George, Jimmy Butler, and Carmelo Anthony all changed teams, as did the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Some of the non-blockbuster deals are having a major impact this season too, with guys like Ricky Rubio, D’Angelo Russell, Brook Lopez, and Avery Bradley all on the move.
There are even a handful of trades made for monetary reasons that have been interesting to monitor — the Nets took on salary dumps like DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe and have turned them into key parts of their rotation, while the Bulls continue to get hammered for selling second-round pick Jordan Bell to the defending-champion Warriors.
We’ve written plenty about most of those trades already, so today we’re taking the opportunity to shine a light on a few deals that have flown somewhat under the radar. These trades seemed like relatively minor moves at the time, but are paying dividends for the teams involved. Let’s dive in…
Suns acquire Troy Daniels and a 2018 second-round pick from the Grizzlies in exchange for a top-55-protected 2018 second-round pick. With too many guaranteed salaries on their books heading into training camp, the Grizzlies dumped one by attaching a second-round pick to Daniels and sending him to Phoenix in exchange for a pick that won’t convey. The move saved Memphis some money, but the club probably could’ve used Daniels more than some of the players it kept. In his last 19 games for the Suns, Daniels has averaged 10.8 PPG and shot 44.3% on three-pointers. He has been particularly productive in the last couple weeks, scoring a career-high 32 points last Wednesday vs. Toronto, then hitting the game-winning shot to beat his old team last night.- Pacers acquire Cory Joseph from the Raptors in exchange for the draft rights to Emir Preldzic. Joseph was originally going to head to Indiana in a deal that would have sent C.J. Miles to Toronto. However, the terms of Miles’ contract made him ineligible to be signed-and-traded, so the Raptors signed him outright and sent Joseph to the Pacers in a separate move to dump some salary. Having essentially been traded for nothing, Joseph has been very solid as the Pacers’ backup point guard this season, making a career-best 43.0% of his threes and chipping in 7.7 PPG and 2.9 APG. Joseph isn’t the main reason the Pacers have exceeded expectations, but he has played a role in the club’s early success.
- Hornets acquire Dwayne Bacon and cash ($1.8MM) from the Pelicans in exchange for Frank Jackson. The Pelicans paid Charlotte $1.8MM in order to move up from No. 40 to No. 31 in the draft, having targeted Jackson. It’s unfair to judge Jackson’s NBA career so far, since it hasn’t even started — a broken foot has sidelined him since the start of September. Still, the Hornets have to be happy with how their side of the deal is working out so far. Bacon claimed a rotation role to open the season, and while he’s experiencing some growing pains as of late, he has shown plenty of promise. The extra $1.8MM that Charlotte picked up in the deal is just a bonus.
- Grizzlies acquire Dillon Brooks from the Rockets in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick. Not much has gone right for the Grizzlies this season, but the team has to be pleased with what Brooks has shown so far. The 21-year-old is currently Memphis’ starting small forward, and has held his own with a respectable .460/.368/.778 shooting line. Of the youngsters on the Grizzlies’ roster, Brooks has shown more long-term keeper potential than most. Meanwhile, the Rockets did okay in this deal too — the 2018 second-rounder they’ll receive will be the least favorable of the Grizzlies’, Hornets’, and Heat’s selections. All three of those teams have underperformed so far this season, improving the value of the pick.
- Knicks acquire the rights to Scott Perry from the Kings in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick and cash ($400K). No players were involved in this swap, but it was technically a trade, with the Kings allowing the Knicks to poach one of their top front-office executives. It’s another deal that has benefited both sides. The Knicks’ front office appears to have finally stabilized since the arrival of Perry, who put a hold on the Carmelo Anthony trade talks in July, then eventually found a deal that has worked out well for New York. As for the Kings, they can’t complain much about securing cash and a future draft pick in exchange for an exec who worked in their front office for less than three months.
- Despite the recent narrative that being traded to Indiana from Oklahoma City (and particularly away from Russell Westbrook) has generated a career season for Pacers guard Victor Oladipo, the opposite is actually true, reports Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. Oladipo himself specifically references how Westbrook’s level of play made him realize how much work it takes to become a star. “Going there and seeing (Westbrook) do that, just seeing his year overall last year definitely helped me realize that I gotta put in a lot of work to get on that level,” Oladipo said. “So, he definitely helped influence my growth both on and off the court. He was an amazing resource, especially last year, to learn from him. And I apply it to everyday life today.”
Here are the G League transactions for today:
- The Spurs announced on Saturday that guard Derrick White has been recalled from the team’s G League affiliate, the Austin Spurs. Through six games with San Antonio, White averaged 1.5 PPG and 1.5 RPG in less than eight minutes per game.
- The Pacers announced on Saturday that T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu have been assigned to the team’s G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. Leaf has appeared in 25 games for the Pacers this season, averaging 3.3 PPG; Anigbogu has appeared in just six games for the Pacers.
- The Jazz has recalled Tony Bradley from their G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the team announced (via Twitter). The 19-year-old has appeared in seven games for Utah this season.
Paul George is back in Indiana tonight for the first time since the blockbuster trade that sent him to Oklahoma City. The deal was supposed to signal the start of a rebuilding process for the Pacers and the creation of a title contender in Oklahoma City, but things haven’t worked out that way. Indiana enters tonight’s game 16-11 and in fifth place in the East, while the Thunder are a disappointing 12-14 and stuck in ninth place in the West.
George was shipped to OKC in early July in exchange for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, who are both putting up career-best numbers in Indiana. Oladipo is scoring 24.5 points per game, while Sabonis is averaging 12.1 points and 8.5 rebounds, both more than double his totals from last season.
Meeting with reporters today, George expressed joy in seeing the Pacers playing so well and said the reason he had his agent tell the team he was unlikely to re-sign after this season is so it could start preparing right away, according to Matthew VanTryon and Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star.
“When we reached out to the front office, to tell them our plans, our future plans, it was to help them along the way,” George said. “And it was bad at first, so to speak, that maybe this trade wasn’t going to pan out. But it obviously did. They got two great, young pieces.”
We rounded up a few more reactions as writers revisited the July deal:
- The Pacers should receive an apology for the initial negative reaction to the trade, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. The general feeling was that Indiana didn’t get enough in return for George, with Cavaliers owner Dan Snyder saying, “I will say [the Pacers] could’ve done better,” and the Oklahoma City police department tweeting about the theft of George. Deveney adds that the deal turned out to be better than some other offers the Pacers received, including Gary Harris and draft choices from the Nuggets, and Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and some non-lottery picks from the Celtics.
- The Thunder had to take the gamble when a star like George became available, contends Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Even if Oladipo turns out to be an All-Star, he wasn’t a good fit with Westbrook during his lone season with the Thunder, Tramel writes, with some observers contending he was out of shape and others saying he couldn’t adjust to Westbrook’s ball dominance. George can be a dominant player on both ends, and his acquisition may have been what inspired Westbrook to agree to a five-year extension in September.
- The Pacers should be elated with the results of the deal, according to a consensus of writers on an NBA.com Blogtable. Indiana could be headed for a playoff spot, while George may be joining the Lakers next summer — if not earlier.
3:19pm: The NBA has officially confirmed that the Pacers will host the league’s 2021 All-Star Game.
8:17am: The 2021 NBA All-Star Game will take place in Indiana, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Pacers will host the event. It will be the first time the team has hosted All-Star weekend since 1985.
The Pacers sent out a press release this morning announcing that a press conference will take place this afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, so the club figures to make the news official at that point. Pacers owner Herb Simon, Indianapolis mayor Joe Hogsett, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver are among those expected to be in attendance for that announcement.
The 2021 All-Star Game update comes on the heels of last month’s confirmation that the Bulls will host the 2020 event. This season’s All-Star Game will take place in Los Angeles, while the Hornets will host 2019’s festivities in Charlotte.
The last time the Pacers hosted the All-Star Game, the team did so at the Hoosier Dome, so 2021 will represent the first time the game has been played at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The Pacers‘ acquisition of Victor Oladipo — along with Domantas Sabonis — in last summer’s Paul George trade was seen by many as a steal for the Thunder. Several months into the season, however, Oladipo’s play has elevated him to star status, Mark Montieth of NBA.com writes.
Through the Pacers’ first 25 games, Oladipo has posted a career-highs in PPG (24.5), RPG (5.3), field-goal percentage (.485%), and three-point shooting percentage (.444%). In his own words, Oladipo has put in all the work necessary to show that he’s a better player than he showed in his first four seasons with the Magic and Thunder.
Oladipo, still just 25 years old, is also setting other career-highs, including a 47-point performance against the Nuggets over the weekend. The Pacers are also playing like a playoff caliber team, occupying fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 16-11 record; Oladipo has been a major reason for that.
- George will make his first appearance as a visiting player on Wednesday when the Thunder visits the Pacers in Indiana. While George’s run with the team included plenty of success, his impending return is the subject of mixed emotions, Jim Ayello of USA Today writes. Former teammates such as Lance Stephenson and Thaddeus Young spoke glowingly of their former teammates while Myles Turner said George did not “leave on the best terms.”
- Rookie center Ike Anigbogu has been recalled from the G League by the Pacers, the club announced in a press release. The 19-year-old struggled in his most recent game for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, recording just two points and two rebounds in 22 minutes on Monday.
Arizona freshman center DeAndre Ayton could be the No. 1 overall pick in June, according to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. The 7’1” Ayton has proven to be a highly productive for the otherwise disappointing Wildcats, averaging 20.4 PPG, 11.4 RPG and 1.4 BPG in his first eight college games. He has a 7-foot-5 wingspan and has shown a high basketball IQ, Brigham continues. At worst, Ayton should be a top-three lock, Brigham adds.
In other news involving the league:
- The trade packages the Knicks and Pacers received from the Thunder in blockbuster deals this offseason have proven to be far better than expected, as ESPN’s Kevin Pelton notes. Center Enes Kanter, the best player the Knicks got back in the Carmelo Anthony trade, is a good fit as Kristaps Porzingis‘ frontcourt partner, while Porzingis has thrived as a No. 1 option in Pelton’s analysis. Victor Oladipo has actually outperformed Paul George in his expanded role with Indiana, according to Pelton’s metrics. The other player the Pacers received in the deal, center Domantas Sabonis, has improved sharply while playing more often in the post than he did in Oklahoma City, Pelton adds.
- The league and several owners have positioned themselves to cash in on expanded betting on its games, as ESPN’s Brian Windhorst examines in an in-depth piece. The league would prefer changes in current federal laws and the creation of a unified commission to oversee the expanded betting operations, Windhorst continues. The Hornets’ Michael Jordan, the Wizards’ Ted Leonsis and the Mavs’ Mark Cuban have recently invested in a company focused on real-time data distribution, which would facilitate in-game wagering, Windhorst adds.
- Lonzo Ball‘s younger brother LiAngelo Ball has no chance of being selected if he declares for next June’s draft, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. LiAngelo Ball would have trouble finding a spot in any professional league, including the G-League, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter links). UCLA announced on Monday that the younger Ball intends to leave the program, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic tweets. The freshman was arrested along with two teammates in China on shoplifting charges and suspended by the school after being allowed to return to the United States.