Scola heads to Indiana to strengthen the Pacers’ frontcourt.

The Phoenix Suns and Indiana Pacers have agreed to trade athletic swingman Gerald Green, big man Miles Plumlee and a lottery protected 2014 1^st round pick for the experienced and polished Louis Scola. The trade talks were first announced yesterday by Adrian Wojnarowski, originally there was much speculation that Granger would be involved in the deal but this was quickly shot down by ESPN.

Both Pacer and Suns fans seem to be relatively happy with this trade as it fills needs for both teams. Indiana’s goal this offseason was to add depth to their bench and add some scoring, these were the two areas that were exposed by Miami in the Eastern Conference finals. Phoenix on the other hand are going in a totally different direction with new GM Ryan Mcdonagh initiating the rebuild that Phoenix has needed since the Stoudemire/Nash era, better late than never. So how exactly does it help both teams and what value have they got from the deal?….

Indiana Pacers: B                                          Phoenix Suns: A

Luis Scola

This move shows that Indiana are looking to win now, they are not interested in developing their raw big man Miles Plumlee and do not view their 2014 1^st round pick as someone who would be potentially ready to contribute to a playoff run. The Pacers realise that they have a small window to win with David West in his prime, Paul George becoming an all star and Granger on the last year of his deal. Scola is frequently heralded to be the player that does the most with the least in the NBA, he has proved to be a very talented all-round scorer. Scola will give the Pacers bench the scoring bump it desperately needed after it finished 29^th in the league last season. The additions of Solomon Hill, Scola, CJ Watson and Chris Copeland should certainly give the bench a scoring punch, not to mention the return of Granger, whether he or Stephenson starts is yet to be decided. Scola’s efficiency in post offence (45.7%) and PnR play (52.1%) should really help spread the floor for the Pacers shooters such as Granger, Copeland and George. One may argue Roy Hibbert already did this last year, but as soon as he went to the bench teams were able to leave Ian Mahinmi and stay with the outside shooters.

 Miles Plumlee

Pacers fans will be disappointed to lose Plumlee as for the last 48 hours the deal appeared to be just Green and a future draft pick. Plumlee was arguably the best defensive big man at the Orlando summer league and looked ready to make the jump into the Indiana rotation. It is not often you get a centre that big and athletic, however if Plumlee was the difference between the Pacers getting Scola and the deal falling through then you can understand why Indiana ultimately decided to part ways. The Suns will be happy to get Plumlee who should also act as cover now for the inevitable future trade of Marcin Gortat. Plumlee still has to learn how to use his physical gifts and become more familiar with the NBA game but if he gets anywhere near his ceiling then he could at least be an athletic and energetic big man that every team needs.

Gerald Green

Green worked his way from being out of the league to being a solid role player with the Nets in the 2012 season, however since earning a multi year contract he has not been able to have the same impact and has struggled for minutes. Green has all the physical gifts many athletes (such as Scola) ask for, but he is unable to affect the game in ways he should. His $3.5 million dollar contract still has two years left on it and with the emergence of Stephenson and comeback of Granger, Green was going to need to get a pillow for that Indiana bench.  The Pacers will be happy to get rid of him and his contract to help fill a need elsewhere.

2014 First Round Pick

For any rebuilding team a first round pick is arguably the most important part of any deal, especially a 2014 1^st rounder as that particular class looks to be the best since 2003. If fully healthy I think Indiana should be close to the 3^rd seed in the Eastern Conference, however, with the East’s elite improving and the unknown impact of injuries and in season trades it is not impossible to see the Pacers end up around the 5^th seed. If that is the case the Suns are looking at a pick in the early to mid twenties which in the 2014 draft could be very valuable.  Add this pick to their Timberwolves 1^st rounder which they own (top 13 protected) and their own 2014 pick and they are in a great position with a number of assets.

Devil’s Advocate:

Draft Express currently have Rasheed Sulaimon (SG), Aaron Harrison(PG/SG) and Alex Poythress(SF/PF) ranked 24, 25 and 26 in their 2014 Mock Draft. Would the Pacers have been better off keeping their pick to fill a need in the future? Comment below on what you think!