Pacers Discussed Trade for $20 Million Tyrese Haliburton Replacement

The Indiana Pacers will be without Tyrese Haliburton for all of next year after he tore his Achilles tendon during Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Without him, most pundits don't give Indiana a shot to compete for a title.

Indiana will have a new starting point guard next season, as former starting shooting guard Andrew Nembhard will move into the starting role. It's unfortunate that he has to move into a different role fresh off an NBA Finals berth.

The Pacers didn't really make a move to replace Haliburton when it comes to free agency. However, they did consider bringing in a guard who could have fit off the bench.

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Indiana thought about bringing in Lonzo Ball, according to Rohan Brahmbhatt of ClutchPoints, via a trade. In the end, they decided to move on with what they had left in the backcourt.

It might ultimately be a smart move for Indiana, fresh off an NBA Finals appearance. They don't want to cut the core of their team after just pushing the Thunder to 7 games.

Ball would have cost the Pacers assets that they don't want to give up, and he's not exactly the offensive threat that fits Indiana's system.

Part of what made the Pacers such a threat last season was the fact that everyone in the starting five could score from almost anywhere on the floor. The bench was largely the same, minus T.J. McConnell.

McConnell is a non-shooter who works with this team because of his unique ability to get to the paint and score almost at will. Adding Ball would have drastically changed what Indiana brought off the bench.

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Ball wouldn't have been able to replace Haliburton's production, nor would he have made a significant dent in the offense. Adding assets to a meaningless trade would have been a bad idea.

Ball can't play more than 15 minutes and still be an effective player off the bench, so the Pacers were right to steer clear of him. They may have been better off adding a player who could have been a more effective scorer.

Last season with the Bulls, Ball averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds. and 3.3 assists per game.

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