Welcome to part two of Eastern Conference off-season grades.

If you miss part one, you can go back and listen.

That includes Nate's and Danny's criteria for how they do these grades.

Pretty interesting off-season for the Indiana Pacers.

The most salient thing, perhaps, that they did, was getting their own pickback this season.

They traded number 23 in Mojave King during the NBA finals while Tyrese Halliburton was

dealing with the calf issue for their own pickback that was with the Pels.

And now they are, that pick was top four protected, but that was of perhaps scant solace

or would have been when Tyrese Halliburton went down. But now this is not a group that tanks. I don't expect that they will. They might even make the playoffs. But this is at least to trade 23 for a pick that, you know, if they do have a disaster next year, could end up being really high or maybe they just were to get lucky in a lottery or something like that too. So that was a great piece of work. Can't say I really cared for anything else at all. Oh, I disagree with that. Jay Huff. I'm getting... Excuse me. Yeah, I did not scroll down far enough for that. Well, that's because Dan wrote James Huff in the sheet. So I didn't see him. His name is James Huff? I didn't know. Was that maybe just an auto correct there? Or is his name actually James? I'm looking it up now. It is James Matthew Huff. James Matthew Huff. That is a, has an all American name right there. And so, yeah, that, so it's so fascinating because the Pacers did, you know,

I'm going to spend a fair amount of time talking about the thing they did that I really didn't like, but they did have some moves on the margins that I did. I mean, so getting their own pickback, I've supported that even before Tyrese Halliburton ruptures Achilles, I mean, which is devastating, and that he's a huge factor in their off season.

But it made sense even before that because... ruptures Achilles, I mean, which is devastating. And that is, he's a huge factor in their off season.

But it made sense even before that because the 23rd pick isn't fabulous.

And I mean, who knows?

Maybe you can actually use the 23rd pick to move up and get somebody.

But anyway, more on that later.

But the, the, so there's more, you know, like, it could be worse, but the possibility that's better, especially when it's your own pick.

Like, that was, it was a very good trade for them even before the injury occurred, even with us thinking if Hal Burton hadn't gotten hurt, that the Pacers were going to be a very competitive team because you never know what can happen.

So that was a really good transaction for them. Jay Huff, I think of him as a rotational level center who might even have more upside than that. I think he's going to be, you know, he's a different kind of center than some of the players that the defensively than some of the players that the Pacers have had before. But I really like him. And I think that he would have been a really nice backup for Miles Turner.

But that is the have had before. But I really like him. And I think that he would have been a really nice backup for Miles Turner, but that is the huge factor here. And so. Yeah, well, just one more thing on Huff. I also like that you can put the ball on the floor a little bit as well as not just a standstill shooter. And that can kind of help this Indiana machine keep things moving in the half court from action to action.

But yeah, they lost Miles Turner, who's a way better player than Jay Huff.

And they lost him.

Yes, they were limited by the tax, but they lost him on a contract that I don't think is a bad contract.

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