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The trade: Jarace Walker, Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, the No. 36 pick, a 2028 first-round pick and a 2030 first-round pick to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges
It felt like the Pacers had time on their side when they spent last year’s No. 8 pick on Walker, but life naturally moves fast in the Circle City.
Indiana’s midseason acquisition of Pascal Siakam upped the franchise’s urgency—and blocked Walker’s natural power forward position.
Just like that, executives are now wondering whether the Houston product “could become a trade candidate” this offseason, per Scotto.
The Pacers surely won’t be in a rush to move Walker, but it’s a different story if he could serve as part of the package that finally pries Bridges out of Brooklyn.
Indiana, which just made its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in a decade, could be an impact, two-way wing away from cracking the contending ranks. Bridges, who has more glue in his game than Elmer’s, might be the last push to get the Pacers over the hump.
While the Nets don’t seem interested in dealing Bridges (more on that later), there is surely an offer that makes them reconsider that stance, and maybe this is it.
Walker is 20 years old with a sky-high ceiling on both ends, Mathurin is a walking bucket with defensive tools, and Jackson pairs pogo-stick bounce with a 7’2″ wingspan.
Tack on a pair of future unprotected firsts—from a non-destination franchise, mind you—and an early second, and perhaps this is the rebuilding kit that gets Brooklyn to bite.