Trade rumors around the NBA are heating up and while there may not be any blockbuster trades being made over the course of the next two weeks leading up to the trade deadline, teams are certainly expressing their interest in some of the best players across the league!
Many teams are watching both the Indiana Pacers and the Portland Trail Blazers to see what transpires with both of them on the verge of rebuilding.
In Indiana, the Pacers are just 17-32 and currently sit 6.5 games back from even having a shot at earning a real playoff spot via the play-in tournament. Myles Turner and Caris LeVert are two names who the Pacers have shown interest in possibly trading away this season, but Domantas Sabonis is another name that has come up in trade talks across the NBA.
There is a level of interest in exploring trade opportunities for Sabonis, but the Pacers do ultimately want to keep their All-Star forward unless they receive an offer they simply cannot refuse.
In Portland, the Trail Blazers are just 20-28 and while they are currently the 10-seed in the Western Conference, they could very well be without Damian Lillard for the rest of the season after he underwent abdominal surgery.
CJ McCollum recently returned from a collapsed lung, but along with Robert Covington and Jusuf Nurkic, McCollum is also hearing his name come up in trade rumors. Much like the Pacers with Sabonis, Portland is not actively looking to trade CJ McCollum right now.
However, if the right deal comes their way, interim GM Joe Cronin could be very interested in making a huge move to set his franchise up for future success.
Both the Pacers and Blazers find themselves in tough positions as losing franchises right now and recently, Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer wrote that the New Orleans Pelicans are targeting both high-level talents.
Could the New Orleans Pelicans make the trade of the season with the Indiana Pacers and Portland Trail Blazers not only involving Domantas Sabonis and CJ McCollum, but All-Star forward Brandon Ingram as well? Let’s take a look at this hypothetical trade scenario.
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: F Domantas Sabonis, G CJ McCollum, G/F Jeremy Lamb
Indiana Pacers Receive: F Brandon Ingram, C Cody Zeller, LAL 2022 1st Round Pick (Unprotected, via NOP), CLE 2022 2nd Round Pick (via NOP), MIL 2025 1st Round Pick (Unprotected, via NOP)
Portland Trail Blazers Receive: C Jonas Valanciunas, G/F Josh Hart, G Tomas Satoransky, UTA 2022 2nd Round Pick (via NOP), LAL 2024 1st Round Pick (Choice of either 2024 or 2025 from LAL via NOP)