The Indiana Pacers have written one of the surprise stories so far this season. They currently occupy the seventh position in the Eastern Conference with a 23-19 record, which allows them to look to the horizon with optimism.
So much so that the first reports, which pointed to ‘tanking’, have given way to rumors that suggest that they will look for movements that improve the roster immediately.
Thus, the Yahoo Sports journalist, Jake L. Fischer, reports that the Pacers are willing to release Chris Duarte in order to improve their chances of success this season.
The ‘guard’, selected in the 13th position of the 2021 draft, has shown promising potential in his short career but the Pacers are considering using him as a bargaining chip to reinforce other positions, now that Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin have emerged as the two young people with a better future.
So far this season, Duarte’s track time and production have declined significantly compared to the role he played in his rookie season. Thus, his 13.1 points and 2.1 assists in 28 minutes have fallen to 6.1 points and 1.1 assists in 16.4 minutes of the current season.
For a long period of time, the Pacers were seen as a team that would presumably divest several major assets before the market closed, with Myles Turner and Buddy Hield being the biggest hits.
While that may end up being the case, the success the Pacers have had so far this season could change the franchise’s roadmap and goals.