The Indiana Pacers head into this weekend’s All-Star Break rejuvenated and ready to make a run as the remainder of the season unfolds. At 33-26, the team will enter the unofficial second half of the season as a top-six seed back east. Victor Oladipo will take part in the All-Star Game for the first time in his career after being acquired in the Paul George trade last summer.
Things are surely looking up for the upstart Pacers. No matter how the remainder of the season plays out, the expectation now is that Indiana will be extremely active during free agency this coming summer.
“Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart are bigger names expected to draw interest from the Pacers, and there could be bargains with the likes of Yogi Ferrell, Montrezl Harrell and Patrick McCaw,” Sean Deveney of the Sporting News reported.
The Marcus Smart situation in Boston is by now well known. In fact, the Celtics were openly looking to move him prior to last week’s trade deadline. Along with the others mentioned here, Smart is set to become a restricted free agent following the season.
The Pacers themselves are in prime position to land a couple top-end players with a majority of the league not neccesarily in great cap situations. That could help Indiana rebrand itself even more now that a widely expected rebuild never really took hold.
It’s going to be an intriguing storyline to follow once the 2017-18 season comes to a conclusion.