Indiana

Pacers

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Wednesday that the two teams had begun a dialogue on a trade involving Hield. But, there has been no progress made, according to Stein. A major issue: the Pacers’ unwillingness to take Tim Hardaway Jr. in return. Hardaway averaged 14.4 points and knocked down three 3-pointers per game last season, but adding him to the mix in Indiana wouldn’t change a great deal. Moving Hield and receiving draft capital in return would free up additional minutes on the wing for some of Indiana’s younger players, while the pick(s) can help with the franchise’s rebuild.

Hield and the team had been discussing an extension, but Charania reported that negotiations “stalled out”. There haven’t been any teams with reported interest as of now, but Hield is no stranger to the trade block. Wherever he ends up, Hield will likely have a smaller role than he has had with Indiana over the past few seasons. Hield was a top-50 player in 9-cat leagues last season and has been one of the best deep range shooters in the league since he entered. He’ll be a valuable player to whatever team he ends up with, but it’s unlikely that he ends up replicating his production from the past few seasons.

Haliburton finished behind only Mikal Bridges for team lead in scoring, getting all 18 of his points from beyond the arc. Hali has played well in the World Cup thus far, but he hasn’t taken on a huge offensive workload with the likes of Anthony Edwards and Paolo Banchero on the roster. He caught fire from three-point range in this one and added some great peripherals to make up a fantastic final line. Fantasy’s eighth-ranked player on a per-game basis last season is a consensus top-5 pick in early 2023-24 drafts.

While Turner is considered to be one of the top perimeter-shooting big men in the NBA, joining the 50/40/90 club is a highly ambitious goal. Only seven players have achieved this feat in the history of the league, with none considered to be centers. But that isn’t preventing Turner, who recorded a 54.8/37.3/78.3/ shooting split last season, from aiming to become the eighth. “And really, 50/40/90 is obviously a big goal for me as well. I think that’s something that I think is attainable,” Turner said on the podcast. Turner’s field goal and three-point percentages last season were career-highs, but the foul shooting may be the biggest issue. He’s made 80 percent of his attempts just once in his career (2016-17) and sits at 77.1% for his career. Whether Turner becomes a 50/40/90 player or not, the shooting numbers and shot-blocking make him a valuable center in fantasy leagues.

Hield had a rough go of it in Sunday’s pre-Olympic qualifying tournament final, with poor 3-point shooting and turnovers being the issues. In addition to going 2-of-11 from beyond the arc, Hield was responsible for a game-high seven turnovers. The good news for him and the Bahamas was that others stepped up, most notably Eric Gordon (27 points), Deandre Ayton (10 points, 21 rebounds), and Travis Munnings (16 points). As a result, the Bahamas are one step closer to appearing in next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Haliburton may not be the United States starting point guard, with Jalen Brunson (11 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block) filling that role, but he’ll figure prominently in Steve Kerr’s rotation. Haliburton, whose 2022-23 season was cut short by an ankle injury, filled the backup role admirably on Monday, racking up 12 assists with just one turnover. Haliburton was a player fantasy managers were willing to use a first-round pick on in drafts last season, and that should be the case again this fall. If you’re looking for a player to make a leap in fantasy value on par with what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander achieved in 2022-23, Haliburton would fit the bill.

With the Suns trading Cameron Payne to the Spurs earlier this month, they find themselves in a tough spot regarding depth at the point guard position. It was reported that Bradley Beal will begin the season as the starting point guard, but what happens when he leaves the floor? According to Stein, the Suns remain interested in adding McConnell to the fold, but they lack the resources to do so. The team has no “readily tradable” players on the roster until December 15, which is when the players signed in free agency will be eligible to be moved. McConnell has been one of the NBA’s better backup point guards while with the Pacers, and it was also reported by Stein that he would prefer to remain in Indiana.

Walker is expected to be ready for the starting of training camp in September, so this was the perfect time for him to have the procedure done. It also shouldn’t have any impact on his chances of earning the starting power forward job, as he’ll be competing against Obi Toppin in training camp.

Selected with the 55th overall pick in last month’s draft, Wong will enter next season on a two-way contract. Scoring-wise, he saved his best for last in Las Vegas, making five of his seven attempts from beyond the arc. In the four games prior, Wong shot 23.1% from deep on 3.3 attempts per appearance. Wong’s likely to get the majority of his minutes with the Pacers’ G League affiliate next season. That could also be the case for 2022 second-round pick Kendall Brown, who was most impactful as a defender (1.3 steals, 2.0 blocks per in the four games prior to Sunday) in Las Vegas. He finished Sunday’s loss with a line of two points and three rebounds in 14 minutes, with there not being much need for the Pacers to push him in the second half.

With Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin done for the summer, there have been more scoring opportunities available to Sheppard. And he took advantage on Friday, shooting 50% from three and scoring a team-high 19 points. Sheppard’s in a difficult spot as far as fantasy potential is concerned, as the Pacers don’t lack depth at the wing positions. The 3-point shooting could make him an asset at some point next season, especially if Buddy Hield is moved, but fantasy managers should leave Sheppard alone early on. Fellow rookie Jarace Walker had a tough night shooting the ball, as he went 6-of-21 from the field (1-of-10 3-pointers) and finished with 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one blocked shot.