Amid season-ending injuries to James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson and the recent waiving of Moses Brown, the Indiana Pacers' frontcourt has been decimated in the first quarter of the 2024-25 NBA season. Indiana ranks 29th in rebounds per game and Myles Turner's 7.1 boards per game is not enough. Behind him, the Pacers desperately need to add some depth.
As a result of their woeful 10-15 start to the season after making the Eastern Conference Finals last year, the Pacers have been linked to their fair share of veteran centers on the NBA trade market. On Sunday, Dec. 15 a lot of recently signed players will be available to trade, and Indiana is expected to make a move.
A reunion with journeyman center Daniel Theis makes sense, but what would it cost Indiana?
Theis, 32, is currently averaging 3.5 points and 3.4 boards off the bench for the flailing New Orleans Pelicans. On a one-year, $2 million deal, moving his salary to Indiana shouldn't be too hard. Over a season and a half, he played eight games for the Pacers, averaging 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds between 2022-23.
Theis is not an elite player by any means and likely wouldn't bolster the Pacers' playoff hopes, but the team desperately needs a rebounder to come off the bench and be a force in the paint. Players like Walker Kessler and Jonas Valanciunas are also on the trade market, but they will likely be a lot more expensive.
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The Pacers could offer a 2025 second-round pick to the fledgling Pelicans in exchange for Theis. After waving Brown and receiving a trade exception, the Pacers have enough salary cap room to not have to send a player out in a deal, and Theis is not good enough to justify parting ways with Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, Andrew Nembhard, or any other promising young player.
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This story was originally published December 11, 2024, 7:45 AM.