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Far-Fetched Friday: The Indiana Pacers are Heading Toward a Full Rebuild
By: Ryan Stein
There are few good teams that fly under the radar quite as much as the Indiana Pacers. The team has been consistently solid for the past decade, but outside of a couple trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, they have not been seen as a serious threat come playoff time. With each of the Pacers' last five seasons ending in a first round playoff exit, change needs to happen for them to become relevant. Despite having some solid talent under the age of 30, it is time for Indiana to undergo a complete rebuild in hopes of shaping into a team with championship potential.
Welcome back to Far-Fetched Friday, where every Friday we give you a bold prediction that we believe will come to fruition. This Friday we look at a touchy situation in Indiana.
The Pacers aren't a particularly old team, with their core players all being under the age of 30. However, the team has already capped out on its potential, and once their front office realizes that, trades will come. There have already been trade rumors surrounding Victor Oladipo, mostly involving Indiana getting young talent with future potential in return. Trading Oladipo for one of the top picks in this year's draft has been thrown around, which would help accelerate a future rebuild.
A few Pacers are young enough to be a part of a rebuild, such as Domantas Sabonis, Myles Turner, and Aaron Holiday. It may be hard to get those guys to buy into a full-scale rebuild, especially after they've been on playoff teams for so long. Those players will command high value on the trade market, and would ensure Indiana is able to get young talent on cheap contracts.
As things stand now, the Pacers' best bet is to bottom out and hope they can hit on a star to carry the team via the draft. Without a rebuild, the Pacers will be stuck in a loop of endless first round exits.
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