Blinksportsnews247This season, the Indiana Pacers have already made a significant acquisition. They used a number of their assets, including significant matching salaries, to acquire Pascal Siakam from the Toronto Raptors in the middle of January.
This season, that might be the only deal Indiana makes. To get it done, three first-round draft selections were needed. Their lineups are now more logical. Their ceiling is elevated. Perhaps Indiana’s best course of action is to make a run for the playoffs and then use the knowledge gained from that run to inform future personnel decisions.
However, the Pacers have several expiring contracts and a frontcourt impasse to resolve, so some rumours have indicated Indiana might not be done making trades. Additionally, every NBA club cherishes having more wing skill. It’s less than a week until the trade deadline.
The Golden State Warriors are one team to which the Pacers have reportedly been linked. Despite Stephen Curry playing at an All-Star level, the Bay Area squad is currently four games below.500 and in 12th place in the Western Conference.
They can be a team looking to make moves before the trade deadline of February 8. While discussing Indiana on the No Cap Room podcast, Yahoo Sports Senior NBA reporter Jake Fischer made the initial connection between the Pacers and Warriors.
Fischer remarked, “I keep hearing ‘ name there (Indiana),” around 14.5 minutes into the show. “I know Jonathan Kuminga was also another Warriors player that the Pacers have been keeping tabs on and calling Golden State about dating back to last draft.”
Fischer continued, saying that it turned out that the blue and gold had been searching for four defensive-minded individuals. This podcast episode came out before the Pacers acquired Siakam, so the dynamics of their interest in any Warriors forward has surely shifted.
Having said that, Indiana should give some thought to both Wiggins and Kuminga. Wiggins is more of a risk; although statistically speaking, he is having a poor year, he has improved recently. It’s difficult to estimate his value under his current contract.
At his production level, is he a good value player? That means having confidence in his ability to perform at his previous level, which he has been doing for the past five games or so. Theoretically, he could work nicely in a forward rotation in Indianapolis with Siakam and Aaron Nesmith.
Given Wiggins’ contract and a challenging season, it’s challenging to determine the ideal trade value. Kuminga has it considerably harder than that. The Athletic revealed less than a week prior to the release of this podcast episode that the young forward had lost trust in head coach Steve Kerr.
Due to this, Kuminga became somewhat popular in trade rumours; nevertheless, as of late, he has excelled. The 2021 lottery selection is averaging 20.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 2024. Given his age and impending eligibility for an extension, it is illogical for the Warriors to even entertain the idea of transferring him, even if he is still dissatisfied with his role. He’s a valuable asset.
He makes sense as a trade target for every team in the league, including Indiana, because of all of those factors. But if Kuminga is ever available, it would take a tonne of assets to acquire him, and the Pacers have less now that Siakam is gone.
After the Siakam trade, both Warriors forwards seem like less plausible targets for the blue and gold, but their trade-related motivations are more speculative given Golden State’s dismal season and expensive roster.
Some opposing teams thought the Pacers may be the destination of a Wiggins deal, according to a report by Marc Stein in his newsletter The Stein Line.
“Indiana’s well-known interest in Anunoby has also led some rival teams to project the Pacers as a potential landing spot for Golden State’s Andrew Wiggins,” Stein wrote in January. This report was released prior to the Pacers acquiring Siakam, but after OG Anunoby was traded to the New York Knicks.
The Pacers gave out many draft picks to acquire the star forward, and Siakam just revealed some thoughts regarding his long-term future, so Indiana’s trade objectives have undoubtedly shifted. Over the next six days, it will be important to keep a watch on both of these teams, but the
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