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Take care of my boy Caris, he's got a good head on his shoulders and when he's on he can score in bunches.

In his 4 games as a starter this year, Levert is putting up 29/5/8 on 47/38/71 shooting splits and 55% TS. Although, it is in 35 minutes and a 33.9% usage rate that is higher than Michael Jordan’s usage rate, which is the highest in NBA history.

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Scoot McGroot wrote:

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I’m always a bit off put when I read this things after something has happened. If it was true, why not report it then, or even hint at it?

Love this deal for the Pacers. Brogdon & Sabonis lead this team. I was happier when Sumner got the minutes instead of Oladipo.

I wonder if the 2nd rounder we got back is the conditional-protected one we've owed them for years, from the Thad Young trade ?

Scoot McGroot wrote:

Scoot McGroot wrote:

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I’m always a bit off put when I read this things after something has happened. If it was true, why not report it then, or even hint at it?

very much agree. Kravitz is an expert at the old “told you so” when I can never recall him actually saying it... but i’ve never been a big fan of Bob in any case. even JMichael has started to do this with all the inside source reporting he does after the details are released publicly.

First of all, I'm quite confident that Levert will more than adequately replace Vic's production with the team. Levert has some star potential, and I predict we will end up being very happy with the trade

That said, I'm still quite disappointed with the trade

Vic is the more talented player, and a two time All Star, Levert isn't. This is clearly a "downgrade"

Due to that I really feel that the team could have insisted on a FRP instead of settling for a 2RP. Or at the very least tried to solve the team's backup PF problem by getting PJ Tucker and sending Lecque out

But the team did neither of that

This feels like the PG trade, where it felt like the team could have asked for more

Whatever

As I said though, I think we will end up being very happy with what we got in the trade, again just like the PG trade

Sad to see Vic go, but it's time to move on

Not sure why Dipo wanted out. He did though. Rumors about him turning into a diva after the masked singer.

Great trade IMO.

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Dame Lillard is a fan.

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Scoot McGroot wrote:

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I seen reports it's a 2nd round pick swap. We'll have to wait for details.

Sent from my phone.

Mark Montieth with the solid point:
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Chiming in here. I think you guys won this deal. Got a younger player that has shown he’s more than capable. Watch his performance against the Raptors in the first round in the bubble. He carried that nets squad and a lot of us on the raptors board were really impressed. He’s a guy we’ve actually been hoping the raptors could get in a deal but I’m glad to see him in Indiana as I think it’s a nice fit. Think he’s gonna impress and win you all over very quickly

Congrats guys!

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PrinceAli wrote:Chiming in here. I think you guys won this deal. Got a younger player that has shown he’s more than capable. Watch his performance against the Raptors in the first round in the bubble. He carried that nets squad and a lot of us on the raptors board were really impressed. He’s a guy we’ve actually been hoping the raptors could get in a deal but I’m glad to see him in Indiana as I think it’s a nice fit. Think he’s gonna impress and win you all over very quickly

Congrats guys!

In their trade grade, SI.com seems to agree:

Pacers: A
Receive: Caris LeVert


This was good business by the Pacers, who acquired a starting-caliber player with upside and an immediate replacement for Oladipo, who is on an expiring contract and had grown disgruntled in Indiana. LeVert, 26, is under contract through 2023, and this move also gets the Pacers out of the luxury tax. Oladipo trade speculation had been swirling for some time. This was ultimately a very sensible decision for Indiana, and the Pacers ended up with a younger, slightly lesser talent on a better deal.

LeVert should finally slide into a full-time starting role with the Pacers, and his slightly ball-dominant approach should fit fine alongside the versatile, underrated Malcolm Brogdon and rapidly improving Domantas Sabonis. The Pacers’ playoff push shouldn’t be impacted, and moving on from Oladipo could ostensibly have some positive impact off the floor. LeVert is a career 43% shooter from the field and has been injury-prone, but he’s a versatile, big wing who’s proven reliable when available. He’s not going to be the piece that pushes Indiana over the top, but Brogdon and Sabonis have both taken their play to another level thus far. He may not need to be.

Full article: https://www.si.com/nba/2021/01/13/james-harden-nets-rockets-trade-grade

Though he had been playing strong over the start of this season, I'm glad we could avoid the distraction of VO re-signing or what not.

LeVert is more than decent value what with his upside, skillset, and friendly contract. As many have expressed, we may be in for a pleasant surprise.

KP has not let us down with his moves, thus far; showing he's willing to pull the trigger on deals that cultivate Pacer culture of winning basketball.

I think we did fine in terms of value, and the team will probably do better in terms of everyone being all in, I’m still bummed.

I mean....

Caris is a high character guy. Glad he's landed in a good situation. Adding Indiana to a short list of teams I'll root for in the playoffs.

J.Michael’s with his “his was destined though we never reported it at any point” take, too

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A year of oxymorons

I'm simultaneously happy and also disappointed with the trade

Happy because I think Levert's going to be better than expected. Happy because as I said a while back, the most likely outcome to the situation with Vic is either Pacers lose him for nothing in free agency, or overpay and throw the max at him in order to retain him - neither option is ideal, so the logical thing to do is to resolve the situation before it comes to that, and this is exactly what the Pacers have done, so I wholeheartedly approve. Happy because there is no longer the question mark about Vic's future hanging over the team, and everyone can just hone in and focus on winning games now

Disappointed because, as mentioned, I feel like the Pacers should have gotten more out of the trade. It really feels like the team could have insisted on wanting the Bucks FRP that Rockets got. Along with the FRP that the team could theoretically have squeezed out of the Thunder in the PG trade, and the FRP that the team voluntarily gave up in the Brogdon S&T, that's 3 FRPs that the team theoretically has lost out on. It feels like the team operates a bit like something of an anti-Danny Ainge in terms of philosophy, willing to not get greedy and sacrifice value in order to seal a good trade

Also disappointed at how the whole Victor Oladipo saga ended. He genuinely brought new energy to the team and carried the team bravely into the post PG era. It looked as if he could join Reggie as one of the greatest Pacer guards of all time. But sadly, that's not the ending we got

Overall, I think the team has definitely improved its position though, so it's time to look ahead and continue building for the next phase