I know this is an unorthodox idea, but I’m not sure why I haven’t seen it yet. Let’s get right into why this makes sense for both teams.

NOTE: Feel free to throw in some distant swaps in favor of Indiana. This trade is more of an idea than an attempt at a hyper-accurate valuation.

Why the Pacers do this:

The Pacers have a logjam at the forward positions but no one player that is going to be a real second option on the championship team they’re trying to build around Halliburton. Jimmy Butler enters a situation where he can coast the regular season next to a dominant scoring backcourt and can then turn it up in the playoffs. It’s strange to think of Butler on a small market team, but this could make sense. Minutes are also opened up for both Jarace Walker and Obi Toppin, both of whom are breakout candidates in a bigger role.

Why the Heat do this:

Miami attempts to build a young-ish team around Herro, Siakam, and Adebayo that can really go in any direction. This team could go for a 5-seed this season behind the new big 4 in the East, or they could blow it up and get massive returns for each player here. They also acquire Kendall Brown who could be another one of those breakout one-hit-wonders the Heat always have.

What do you think of this deal? Looking forward to the discussion in the comments!