As a Pacers fan, I am very, very happy with the trade. Our asking price was young player + 1st round pick or two 1st round picks so what we got (1 first round pick and 1 very early 2nd round pick) is really close to that initial asking price. That shows two things, imo:
1) It shows that our initial asking price wasn't unreasonable.
2) It sets up the baseline for any trades involving Sabonis/Brogdon/Turner (assuming that we trade them in this trade window or in the off-season). LeVert had less trade value than the other 3 so if we were able to get that return for him, it would pretty logical to assume that we'd want to get at least that (and possibly more) for the others.
This trade also does something else that may be insignificant to most other fans but is actually pretty significant for most Indiana fans. It shows us that our FO actually
is willing to trade starters for draft picks. This seems like a given for fans of most teams but it's far from that for a Pacer teams. Pacer fans have been bombarded with the message that the Pacers do not trade starters for draft picks for as long as I've followed them (which is around a decade, I started following the NBA during the '11 lockout). Seeing us trade a starter for a draft pick is a huge deviation from what we've been used to and a sign that our FO understands the direction that it needs to go. It's actually kind of a landmark for us, as weird as that may sound.
Last but not least, I do have to say that LeVert is a pretty good player. No, he's not a star but he can create his own shot and that's important in this league. I believe that he will help the Cavs. For that reason, I voted that the trade is win-win.
I am also glad tha LeVert is going to a team with playoff aspirations. He has had a very tough couple of years and I wish him all the best
