Under the radar deals
The first trade that I have made up is a trade sending Langston Galloway to Central Division rivals, the Indiana Pacers. The deal would send Galloway to Indiana in return for Justin Holiday, JaKarr Sampson, and two second round picks (2021, 2023).
The Pacers are starting to remind me of the Spurs in some fashion where their roster keeps taking hits and they are still in the playoff race every season. While losing their all-star guard Victor Oladipo hurt the Pacers, I’d argue their biggest loss was Bojan Bogdanovic and his lethal distance shooting.
Coach McMillan and the rest of the Pacers organization have been able to get the best out of all the talent that’s came into their doors from Paul George to Oladipo to Myles Turner to Domantas Sabonis to Bogdanovic and now Malcolm Brogdon is blossoming on the potential he showed in Milwaukee.
Brogdon has been able to fill in the shoes of Oladipo well, but the Pacers are in desperate need of a shooter like Galloway as Doug McDermott shouldn’t be the best shooter on any playoff team, with all due respect.
The next trade that I have created is with the Timberwolves, who are on the edge of the playoffs. This trade is similar to the Pacers trade where Galloway is dealt for Jake Layman, Noah Vonleh, and two second round picks.
The Wolves are 28th in the league as a team shooting the three ball, so they need all the help they can get. Karl-Anthony Towns is the leading three-point shooter in all categories, attempts per game (8.5), makes a game (3.6), and percentage (41.8 percent). In addition to KAT, the Wolves other main shooters are Robert Covington and Andrew Wiggins.
The Wolves would be interested in Langston as he is a suitable replacement for the likely-to-be traded Covington. This trade would have Minnesota get a good knockdown shooter for the price of two second rounders and two role players, where they will likely get a young player and a first for Covington, a small price to pay.
The Pistons would get wings Holiday and Sampson or Vonleh and Layman in return for Galloway who would give Pistons some quality depth if needed for another push for the playoffs. The second-round picks have really become assets in the past few drafts as Bruce Brown has been a Pistons starter for two seasons now as a second-round pick.
While this isn’t a great deal, the contracts don’t match-up incredibly well with Langston’s $7.3 million, and the Pacers seem to win nearly every trade they are involved in, so two second round picks aren’t a horrible return if it comes to it.