The Indiana Pacers are dealing with a major injury to Paul George this year and the team could consider a trade with Roy Hibbert, George Hill or David West if things do not work out as planned, as the team has lost some names in free agency and they have plenty of competition in their division with the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers, who return Derrick Rose and LeBron James to their rosters.
The Pacers are not actively shopping Roy Hibbert now, but earlier in the season they were looking at trades with Hibbert and that followed a horrible run in the playoffs that saw him put up some zero-zero performances. According to Pro Basketball Talk, the Pacers looked at a trade with Greg Monroe and the Pistons as an option, but that did not get farther than just discussions. The overall plans for the Pacers likely changed with the Paul George injury and the team now has to find a way to get things done without their best player in the fold.
Hibbert and West are now the core players for the team and some speculated that the Pacers could blow things up after the way they finished last season, but the George injury changed all of that. The Pacers felt that heading into the season their window to win a championship was still open, but now with George out, there is a chance that the best days for this group are behind them. George Hill will have to step up this season and the team also added Rodney Stuckey and he will get extended minutes without George in the lineup.
The team lost George to an injury and Lance Stephenson to free agency and now they have to find a way to replace those players. West is getting up there in age and Hibbert needs to find a way to get things going after faltering down the stretch last season. The Pacers can still be a very good team in the east and while Miami, Cleveland and Chicago will likely be better, Indy will not be an easy out all season.
Pro Basketball Talk is also reporting that the Indiana Pacers have explored a trade with the Phoenix Suns involving Goran Dragic, as they have been looking to upgrade from George Hill at point guard. The Pistons have been looking to move either Smith or Monroe this offseason to break up the logjam with Andre Drummond and ideally they would like to move Smith, but his contract is making that difficult.
Last season the Pacers were the top team in the eastern conference and they were expected to be in that mix again, but that was before the George injury happened. George fractured his leg and while he will be out for a year and while the Pacers will be missing quite a bit without him, he has received good reports after surgery and he is expected to make a full recovery. Last season the team was second in points allowed per game on defense and their scoring was an issue and now they will need a new leading scorer with George gone.