Toronto Raptors rumors: Pacers’ David West a trade target?
By Bryan Rose
With Paul George likely to miss the entire year the Indiana Pacers know they’re not likely to compete for an NBA championship this season. Some have hinted that a quick re-tooling may be the Pacers best route and if such was to go down, David West would likely be one of the first names to go.
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Given his age and the fact that he only has two years remaining on his deal, David West isn’t exactly part of the Pacers long term plans so if an offer for a young player came in, you’d assume they’d listen. That’s why Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders hints the Toronto Raptors could be a potential trade destination for David West if Indiana does decide to sell off some talent.
"Would a package centered around Patrick Patterson and maybe another asset get it done? Patterson would be a nice fit in Indy as a stretch 4 whose defensive shortcomings would be helped playing next to Hibbert."
The Toronto Raptors recently re-signed Patterson to a three-year, $18 million dollar deal so he’s relatively cheap in comparison to David West who is due $12 million this year and holds a $12 million dollar option for the 2015-16 season. That in itself would be beneficial for the cash-strapped Pacers and getting a player like Patrick Patterson in return (along with the salary relief) could be something the Indiana Pacers show interest in.
As for the Toronto Raptors, they’d be getting a talent upgrade, a bit of an interior presence and wouldn’t be locked in long term from a contractual standpoint.