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Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers are heading into a very intriguing offseason with many different options they could pursue. One of those things would be to upgrade the point guard position and allow George Hill to slide over to his natural shooting guard spot. There are a few players who could be had in free agency, but there is also one in particular on the trade market Indiana should look to acquire.
Ty Lawson has been the face of the Denver Nuggets‘ franchise for the past few seasons, but he has been losing faith in the organization and has allowed his attitude to put his future with the team in danger. At this point in time, the Nuggets are expected to deal Lawson away ahead of the NBA trading deadline next year.
If the Pacers truly want to make the upgrade at point guard, Lawson would be the perfect player for them to target.
During the 2014-15 season, Lawson averaged 15.2 points, 9.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game. He shot 43.6 percent from the field overall and 34.1 percent from behind the three-point arc.
At just 27 years old, Lawson still has a lot of basketball left in his prime and is more than capable of being a franchise point guard for the Pacers. There is no telling what they would have to give up in order to acquire Lawson, but a package surrounding their No. 11 overall pick and either David West or Roy Hibbert might be right around the asking price. If that is indeed the price tag, the Pacers should jump at the opportunity to acquire their point guard.
Hill made a huge step in the right direction this past year, but he is still more of a scorer than a point guard. Taking Hill off the ball and allowing him to focus primarily on scoring would make him the type of dangerous scoring option that the Pacers need. Lawson is a capable scorer himself, but he also knows how to run an offense.
There are other options on the market should the Pacers decide to go for a cheaper player. Rajon Rondo is expected to be available at a discounted price in free agency, while other options like Mo Williams will also be available.
Indiana has the type of talent that it takes to make a run at a championship when they are 100 percent healthy. That being said, they have to bring in a legitimate point guard to run Frank Vogel‘s offense. Hill will be a solid option once again if they choose to stick with him, but he isn’t the type of playmaker that the Pacers have needed.
Expect to see the Pacers be very active this coming offseason. They are going to be open to making a trade with their draft pick if it helps them compete right away, and Lawson is a very intriguing trade option. If the right deal presented itself, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Pacers pull the trigger on a trade for a point guard.
Evan Massey is the Green Bay Packers beat writer for www.RantSports.com, and also contributes across the NFL, MLB and NBA portions of the site. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan and like him on Facebook.
