Chris Appel

@IndianaJonesQB @NateDuncanNBA Benn and i-jax made the salaries work. Better than obi since Benn was gone and its impossible to do a sign and trade with an RFA

@cappel109 @NateDuncanNBA You cant disregard a players value just because he wouldn't resign...so not strawman. Also the argument more so lies in the 2 1st round picks. If it was this years #5, a 2nd, Benn and Ijax I dont have a problem.

It was clear at the time of doing the trade that the 5th or 6th pick would probably be a point guard. So Pacers would be looking to trade it now, without as much matching salary. Would they get a better (and cheaper) player without losing part of their core than Zu? I say no.

@IndianaJonesQB @NateDuncanNBA Not saying it wasn’t an over pay. But if the pacers get a top 4 pick people would be doing back flips

@IndianaJonesQB @NateDuncanNBA Then you probably don’t get him.

@Itaygabay @NateDuncanNBA Wagler is years away they are trying to win title now. If they get lottery luck and get DP everyone loves the trade. It was a calculated risk

@cappel109 @NateDuncanNBA I think Wagler will be a much better player than Andrew Nembhard. Same with Acuff, but Wagler is a better fit. Couldn't the Pacers trade Nembhard and a 2029 1st for a center?

@Itaygabay @NateDuncanNBA In 5 years? Maybe. He can’t guard his shadow.

@Itaygabay @NateDuncanNBA Maybe. Not in this win now mode. Would you hate the trade if the pacers won the lottery. The answer has to be yes. Same trade.

@cappel109 @NateDuncanNBA And in the grand scheme, I think Wagler, Acuff, and perhaps Flemings are younger than Zubac with a very good chance of having a better career than him.

@Itaygabay @NateDuncanNBA Name your savior. Acuff? Wagler? Brown? Flemmings? Burries? Look in your magic 8 ball and please say who is the savior they passed on

@cappel109 @NateDuncanNBA Harper and VJ are great players who are long term better than any other current Pacers player besides Haliburton and maybe Siakam.

@Itaygabay @NateDuncanNBA Guards usually take 2-3 years and don’t play on contenders. They get to develop through the growing pains. Tell me now though who is the franchise player. You don’t get to watch a year then say

@cappel109 @NateDuncanNBA The quality of this draft is different in the the top 9 or 10 is different. Let's talk at the end of next season. I think you'll be surprised. There's a reason teams' scouts really love the group of guards at 5-7.

@Itaygabay @NateDuncanNBA Name the one who will hit.

@AlexGoldenNBA @MillerTimePod People are acting like Tim Duncan was gonna be there At 5.

@AlexGoldenNBA @MillerTimePod So get rid of him for too 7 center. Salaries need to match. People needed to lose their minds in February over this that the risk of losing precious pick No 5 or 6 was too much. Not only after the lotto fell. The 5 or 6 has s better chance to be a bust than be a star. Pe

You're looking at this the wrong way. It isn't that Indiana was desperate and had to overpay because of need. I think they have a belief that Zubac is a perfect fit who will have a much bigger impact than their other options, and placed a huge bet on the fact they're right.

@Itaygabay @NateDuncanNBA Exactly. There is no harper or Dylan sitting there at 5 like people seem to think you have no idea if mikal brown wagler or acuff will be good

@IndianaJonesQB @NateDuncanNBA Benn was not resigning so throwing him in is a strawman. I think peoole underestimate how good zu is and over estimate the 5th pick. No one knows who will be any good at 5. People should have lost their minds in February. Not when ping pong balls didn’t go their way

@cappel109 @NateDuncanNBA Thanks for pointing out 2 other players not worth the trade. Just because you find a partner dumb enough to make the trade doesn't mean its a good trade or that the value is appropriate.

@IndianaJonesQB @NateDuncanNBA Those were terrible trades but people didn’t lose tbeir minds. Zu is better than both of them. The 5th pick could be a bust. People woulda loved the trade if the pacers landed a top 4 pick. Its the same trade. Part of the risk. Title windows close.

@AlexGoldenNBA @MillerTimePod Benn was not going to re-sign and you know it alex. A fringe all star like Zu doesn’t go for 2 firsts but desmond bane goes for 4 and bridges goes for 5. The deal just makes it a better deal. Way better than paying a washed Myles

Maybe my viewpoint on this is wrong. Always willing to hear others perspectives and discuss. I agree that they believe in Zubac being the missing piece for their starting five. I also think his salary was a massive reason he was their top priority. But their lack of a starting five and needing to address it had to be a factor. Maybe the correct framing would be that they were desperate to get a high-level center who addressed their biggest issues. I still believe LA had all the leverage and Indiana was going to have to overpay to get him. And I only say overpay because a player like Zu doesn’t usually go for 2 firsts and a former top-six pick

@KaliHBIC @NateDuncanNBA Name him. Only one. Not 3 years later. Draft is a craft shoot after 3 usually. So name that guy now

@NateDuncanNBA A 29 year old C, with prior foot issues, coming off an injured season. High quality starter, not an A.S. The value is not there, it is a guarantee that there will be a player available at 5 (and after) who will go on to have a far greater career than Zubac.

@RLerand @NateDuncanNBA But if they got the first pick its a great trade? It was the same trade. You live with the dice roll.

@NateDuncanNBA You would have to be a special kind of stupid to think the 5th pick AND a future 1st for Zu is a good trade.

@IndianaJonesQB @NateDuncanNBA If bane on a max is worth 4 and bridges is worth 5 a fringe all star all D center is worth 2.

@NateDuncanNBA Im sorry, but I have 2 problems: 1) The NBA draft lottery is asinine and the NBA is the only major league that does it to prevent "tanking". 2) Zubac has NEVER been worth 2 first round pick let alone Benn, IJAX and a 2nd round thrown in. Hes just not.

@BBB8421 @NateDuncanNBA Wagler is years away my man. You forget the curve for 18 year olds. Not like they passed on Cade

@NateDuncanNBA When they made the trade Wagler wasn't seen as that great, now he looks like the perfect SG for the Pacers to add some scoring in half court. Zu is also not like a perfect fit for their system from last year. So its all a bit of a loss overall. But they tried to max value