OTG's Trade Deadline Marathon: Thaddeus Young Returns to the Indiana Pacers

IND receives: Thaddeus Young

CHI receives: Jeremy Lamb, TJ Leaf & Second Round 2021 (via Utah)

Why the Pacers do this: With Victor Oladipo back the Indiana Pacers have a logjam at the guard position. Oladipo, Malcolm Brogdon, TJ McConnell, Aaron Holiday, Jeremy Lamb & Edmond Sumner are all players searching for minutes at the guard spot. The Pacers as of late have elected for Sumner & Holiday to be the guys to fall out of the rotation. The Pacers' issue, however, comes from the forward spot, Domantas Sabonis & Myles Turner are both centers who thrive at their position. Turner as of late when on the floor with Sabonis offensively is used around the perimeter. Goga Bitadze has loads of potential but doesn’t seem ready for big minutes.

Acquiring Thaddeus Young does a couple of things: Young has played with the Pacers under head coach Nate McMillian, he was loved by the staff and his teammates for his locker room presence and hustle. Young would give some added interior and perimeter defense to the Pacers and serve as a key backup for Sabonis & Turner. While trading away Lamb may hurt the offense slightly, between Holiday & Sumner the production of Lamb should be matched.

Why the Bulls do this: The Chicago Bulls wanted to add some veterans to the roster and push forward to the playoffs, it just hasn’t worked. Thaddeus Young has been given spotty minutes and hasn’t produced as expected. The Bulls could see Jeremy Lamb as another productive bench scorer or a piece that they can flip down the road. TJ Leaf is a young player who possibly just needed a bigger opportunity and minutes to really develop. Lastly which helps push this deal is the Bulls also receive a second round pick. (via Utah)