Pacers Were One Wrong Move Away From Total Disaster

The Indiana Pacers are in the NBA Finals because they are a team that has chemistry and cohesion. This unit has been allowed to grow together over the last three years.

Adding Pascal Siakam was the final move that the Pacers needed to make in order to make this team a Finals team. Now, they will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the right to win their first NBA championship in franchise history.

This team was almost pulled apart a few years ago, though. This team was almost broken apart in order to get draft capital and start a bit of a rebuild.

Indiana was very close to breaking up their core back in 2022. There were rumors that the Pacers were going to trade away Myles Turner to the Lakers in exchange for Russell Westbrook and a first-round pick.

The Pacers wanted something more in that deal, though. They wanted both of the first-round picks that the Lakers could add at that point. Los Angeles balked, and the deal fell apart.

Had the Pacers made that trade, they would have given up on the longest-tenured player and acknowledged that he wasn't good enough to help them win at the highest level.

Bringing in Westbrook would have been a disaster. It also would have likely meant that they wouldn't have traded Domantas Sabonis for Tyrese Haliburton, and Siakam would never have been traded for, either.

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Instead, Kevin Pritchard made the right move by keeping Turner. He has become a key part of the Pacers turning into a team that is just four games away from winning the title.

Turner is going to be a big part of this series against the Thunder. His ability to make threes and protect the rim is going to crucial to the success of the Pacers against a really good team.

Indiana was rewarded for having faith in their guys. Now, they have a chance to pull off one of the most unlikely titles in NBA history.

So far this postseason, Turner is averaging 15.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game. He is shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 40.3 percent from three.

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