The Indiana Pacers are dealing with a serious injury to Paul George and he will be out for the season and before that happened the team looked at a Roy Hibbert trade with the Phoenix Suns for Goran Dragic that would have included Chris Copeland and money and this comes as another report came out that Indy looked at a deal for Greg Monroe with the Pistons involving Hibbert.
According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Suns and Pacers may have talked a deal for Roy Hibbert and Goran Dragic at some point this offseason and that deal also would have included Chris Copeland in it. Dragic has been a target for the Pacers all summer and Marc Stein from ESPN.com wrote earlier in the year that Dragic was a "dream" option for the Pacers. Point guard is one area where the Pacers would love to upgrade and while that was before the Paul George injury, it could be even more necessary now with the team losing their best offensive player.
The Pacers were the top team in the eastern conference last season and now they are going to have a tough time making it back to that after losing Paul George to the injury. George was injured while playing USA Basketball and although doctors have said he should make a full recovery, the Pacers still have to find a way to replace his production on offense.
The team has met with free agent Shawn Marion and he could be a solid option to come in and help and while he can't full replace George, he sure could help along. The team applied for an exception to help sign someone for George and Marion has been the top free agent option. The Pacers don't have too many options on the market and that is why trade ideas and rumors have popped up.
The Sporting News reported earlier in the offseason that the Pacers were shopping Hibbert and that came before reports from Pro Basketball Talk about the interest in Greg Monroe and Dragic. Marc Stein wrote earlier in the offseason on ESPN.com that the Pacers "dream" of a Dragic trade, as that would give the team a major upgrade over George Hill at point guard. Dragic is coming off of a great season that saw him win most improved player of the year and he averaged 20 points and nearly six assists per game.
The Pacers are going to have a tough time in the central division this season, as the Cavaliers now have LeBron James and the Bulls are improved as well. The Bulls have Derrick Rose coming back healthy and they also added Pau Gasol in free agency and now that George is out, the division will be tight.