Despite losing All-Star Paul George for the season, the Indiana Pacers reportedly want to see if their roster can compete as is before considering any trades. If the season goes poorly, one other possibility is trading center Roy Hibbert.
Indiana's playoff hopes took a huge hit with the season-ending leg injury to George. Pacers president Larry Bird, however, is hesitant to drastically rearrange the team by making trades and reportedly will see how the first part of the season unfolds with his current roster.
"From my understanding the Pacers plan to see if what they have works, mainly because they don't have a lot of room to do anything without breaking up the team," Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders wrote Tuesday. "The guy to watch is Solomon Hill, he was drafted to be the Danny Granger replacement, so we'll see if he can be that guy in camp. I don't think you can label a team as 'content' when they lose their best player for a year. Injuries create opportunity, if not they'll make changes mid-season."
C.J. Miles is projected to be the starter at the 3-spot in place of George, with Hill - at least for now - coming off the bench. Indiana had been linked to free agent Michael Beasley, but the team's purported interest in the small forward has appeared to cool.
While it's possible Indiana moves pieces around and makes a trade before the February deadline, it's also possible Indiana has a mini-fire sale by offloading Hibbert, who has a player option for next season.
The inconsistent 27-year-old has looked unhappy at times playing for the Pacers, and if it appears he plans to opt out of his contract after the season, Bird could choose to offload him before the trade deadline as opposed to letting him walk for free in July.
