There are many ways to add talent in the NBA, but the Indiana Pacers took the road traveled by very few to get their star.
"I will say this: We had one player targeted, and we were able to get him," Pacers president Kevin Pritchard said after acquiring Haliburton after the 2022 trade deadline."We have a point guard of our future.” While some are quick to label disappointing rookies and sophomores “busts,” others might see a talented individual in the wrong situation. One person’s trash, another person’s treasure, sort of thing.
Pritchard started running the team in 2012. In 2017, he traded George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Sabonis. Oladipo had bounced around from the Orlando Magic to the Thunder, then blossomed into an All-NBA player in Indiana before injuries derailed his career. Sabonis was still on his rookie contract going into his second year when he was traded to the Pacers. He finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting the next season and, by his fourth year, was named an All-Star.
Of course, this strategy doesn’t work without Haliburton’s leadership and Rick Carlisle’s coaching, but that’s also the point. The Pacers bet on their superstar and their structure to make the most out of players other teams failed to develop. “Teams ESPN talked to during the season pointed to how the Pacers constructed their roster next season as a blueprint under the new CBA: two players on max contracts followed by nine players earning between $2 million to $19.9 million. Five of those players are on rookie contracts,” Marks wrote.