Winners and Losers from Kings-Pacers’ Domantas Sabonis-Tyrese Haliburton Trade

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To Be Determined: Offseason Malcolm Brogdon Suitors

Malcolm Brogdon cannot be traded by the deadline after signing a two-year, $45 million extension in October, and the Pacers may have no intention to deal him, period. But flipping Caris LeVert for draft picks and moving Domantas Sabonis at all could signal a real openness to rebuilding.

If the Pacers go that route, you better believe a throng of suitors will form a disorderly queue in hopes of winning the sweepstakes for a quasi-lead guard who can effectively play alongside just about anyone.

Potential Loser: Myles Turner Suitors

Conversely, Myles Turner admirers may be out of luck. His left foot injury either lowered his trade value or ensured the Pacers wouldn’t move him until the offseason, when he’s presumably healthy.

Now they might not move him at all.

Turner is apparently foaming at the mouth for the chance to be Indiana’s primary big, per Woj. And keeping his combination of floor-spacing and rim protection makes a boatload of sense if the Pacers are angling for a quicker return to relevance.

This could, of course, be unified posturing—an attempt to drum up interest now or later. But anyone planning to join the hunt for Turner before Thursday or over the offseason better have a quality list of alternatives on the brain.

Winner: Myles Turner

Congrats on becoming the primary center in Indiana, big man!

To Be Determined: Monte McNair’s Job Security in Sacramento

Team Governor Vivek Ranadive doesn’t sign off on Haliburton’s exit if general manager Monte McNair is on the hot seat. Only execs with a modicum of stability get to make a move of this magnitude. (Theoretically, anyway.)

Then again, McNair has just nudged the Kings in an all-in-like direction—at the expense of a huge draft-day success for which he and his people are responsible, no less. The exact endgame is unclear, but anytime you mortgage part of your future (i.e., Haliburton) in the name of win-now impact, you’ve put yourself on the clock.

And to that end, McNair may have left his mark on this roster in a way that ensures he’ll be the person charged with naming a permanent head coach, but it is also he who will bear the burden of failure if Sabonis’ fit doesn’t pan out and the Kings remain stuck in sub-mediocrity by this time next season.

Winner: Kevin Pritchard’s Job Security in Indiana

To be clear: Pacers president Kevin Pritchard was never portrayed as anyone other than the head basketball executive who would be responsible for jump-starting the next era of Indiana basketball.

Still, this move just about guarantees it.

The Pacers’ direction is more pleasantly open-ended as a result, but Pritchard just unloaded the heart and soul of the team’s offense without extracting draft compensation. Justifiable? Beyond so. But it’s not a verdict you get to render unless you’re assured of making all of the organization’s other most important decisions for the foreseeable future.

Unless otherwise noted, stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference, Stathead or Cleaning the Glass and accurate entering Tuesday’s games. Salary information via Spotrac.

Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale), and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by NBA Math’s Adam Fromal.