Analysis: Pacers trade Danny Granger to 76ers for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen
It took hours and hours of mundane deadline day activity and the actual passing of the 3 p.m. ET deadline itself, but with Indiana and Philadelphia swapping Danny Granger and Evan Turner, among other things, we finally had a deal worth talking about.
At 30, Granger has given Indiana little this season, and while Turner has his own flaws (notably efficiency and defense), the Pacers' ability to turn an over the hill player's $14 million expiring contract and a future second round pick into a solid, 25-year-old wing (plus a serviceable 25-year-old big man) as they gear up for a run at a championship should not be taken lightly.
Turner's True Shooting Percentage of .504 leaves much to be desired, and Granger has actually produced more win shares so far this season (1.2-1.0) in 1233 less minutes, but logging playing time for one of the best teams in the league will help in that regard while Turner has been logging time for a team that more resembles the Washington Generals at times than an actual NBA squad.
At this stage in their careers, Turner is the much more dependable, consistent and complete player, and there is certainly reason to believe that with a much lesser role (His usage rate is over 24 so far this season) and much more appropriate role than the one he was playing in Philly, the former No. 2 overall pick can provide quite the boost to an already excellent Pacers team.
In addition, the youngster provides a bit of insurance in the event Lance Stephenson walks as a free agent this summer.
Turner is the recognizable name, but the Pacers also added a good defensive big man in Lavoy Allen, who currently boasts a Top-15 offensive rebound rate, to their already formidable bigs rotation of Roy Hibbert, David West, Luis Scola, Ian Mahinmi and yes, Andrew Bynum soon as well.
Turner and Allen will be finishing up their rookie scale contracts for the remainder of the season and do not need to be retained. If they don't perform well or the Pacers simply choose not to bring either one back, they'll have still gotten something for a piece that didn't figure to be in their future plans anyway (Granger) and a second round pick. And if, as expected, they do get some quality minutes from Turner and possibly even Allen, well then a 41-13 team just got noticeably better as they take aim at Miami.
As for the Sixers, they traded Turner, Allen and Spencer Hawes today - three of their eight most used players - for Granger, Earl Clark, Henry Sims, Eric Maynor, Byron Mullens and an absolute plethora of second round picks. In other words, somebody's coming for you, Milwaukee...
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