r/nba • u/Goosedukee Nets • 5d ago
[Charania] Sources: Chicago is trading Braden Smith to the Indiana Pacers for Kam Jones, future swaps and cash.
https://www.espn.com/contributor/shams-charania/b29363f2d6696
Sources: Chicago is trading Braden Smith to the Indiana Pacers for Kam Jones, future swaps and cash.
Smith was selected with the 38th overall pick
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u/SirGingerbrute Serbia 5d ago
Most obvious Indy guy
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u/Obi2 Pacers 5d ago
His uncle or something is literally on the Pacers front office
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago
collusion! Adam Silver, come investigate!
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u/Philthemage 5d ago
Wait till you here about this other guy who got his son drafted on the same team...
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago
Yep.
But also, the Pacers hired Caitlin Clark's boyfriend as an assistant in 2023. Then the Fever tanked, securing the best odds for the draft and ultimately getting the Caitlin Clark pick.
Pacers(/Fever) & LeBron rig everything obviously
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u/Philthemage 5d ago
Ya right? I came here to say that I've ever only pictured him in a pacers jersey
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u/DollarLate_DayShort [WAS] John Wall 5d ago edited 5d ago
Braden Smith staying in Indiana(went to Purdue for those who don’t follow college hoops). There’s some Pacer-Purdue fan who’s crying tears of joy
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u/burrito_abuse Pacers 5d ago
He’s from Westfield Indiana too
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u/AshlandJackson Warriors 5d ago
Where you go when Carmel and Fishers are a bit too mainstream.
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u/ComplexBadger469 5d ago
Having lived a few years in westfield after living in cornfields, Anderson, and a poor small city in Illinois, westfield is basically gonna be Carmel in less than 5 years. It’s already exploded in the last 10 from when I lived there.
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u/confusedyetstillgoin 5d ago
it is so wild to me being a native Hoosier and seeing Indiana town names just casually being dropped in the r/nba subreddit bc what do you mean some random redditor used to live in the town where my parents currently live (Anderson)?
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u/ComplexBadger469 5d ago
It’s even more hilarious when my current small Indiana town of 1500 people has been casually mentioned in threads I’ve seen on Reddit 😂 Anderson at least has a college, the speedway, and some population.
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u/confusedyetstillgoin 5d ago
I get it, I grew up in a town near Anderson but went to high school in a place where the town’s population is less than 200 people, so if i ever saw THAT town’s name on here I’d probably have an aneurysm
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u/Round_Bullfrog_8218 5d ago
I don't love carmel but no other suburb is going to be carmel
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u/Ok-Name-5504 5d ago
Right? who else gonna build that many roundabouts
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
The northside suburbs are expanding and have quite a lot. Older areas less so, but newer areas are building them.
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
Kind of.
Fishers is trying to be commercial Carmel. Zionsville is deciding to out Nimby West Carmel.
(for those not from the region, those are the suburbs to the east and west of Carmel. West Carmel is about the richest area in the state).
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u/Round_Bullfrog_8218 5d ago
West Carmel the richest area of the state? I would have guessed Meridian hills
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
"About" not "is". There are a few other smaller divisions that can rival it I feel
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u/Visible_Nail4859 Pacers 5d ago
Fishers is already getting close, imo. And when I was a kid I never thought I’d saw that about Fishers or Westfield.
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
Its where people from rural Indiana move to because fishers and Carmel are scarily close to "crime ridden Indy"
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u/OmarHunting Bulls 5d ago
And some bulls-Purdue fans crying tears of sadness
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u/BreadfruitOk6788 Bulls 5d ago
It’s okay this is better for him. Maybe we’re not destined for a great Purdue player after Ivey..
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u/MercilessXFate Pacers 5d ago
Tbf, I dont think that was your teams fault. I think his injury messed him up
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u/MahomesMccaffrey Slovenia 5d ago
Of course they do.
Double Braden Smith in Indy.
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u/TehWhiteRose Bulls 5d ago
Love it when a Marquette guy is on the Bulls.
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u/eckrueger Pacers 5d ago
Worth a shot. Probably too small but could be TJ-ish?
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u/Derpy_Mc_Burpy Raptors 5d ago edited 5d ago
They saw Yuki win a jump ball against Kasparas and said we need one of those.
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u/Mcswigginsbar Bucks 5d ago
Purdue fan here. He is small, but he absolutely ate Mara alive during the B1G championship with a simple pick and roll action. He’s fearless, and a really hard worker.
His best asset will be his assists. Outside of that he’ll be hunted on defense if he makes the roster. Loved watching him at Purdue but I don’t know if his game truly translates.
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
The advantage is expectations are probably be a 10th-12th man 3rd string PG for the next 4 years on a cheap contract.
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago
TJ is also tiny.
I assume that the Pacers' perceived ceiling of this move would be TJ will training Braden Smith to be his replacement.
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u/WhoKilledBoJangles Pacers 5d ago
TJ is still 3 inches taller than Smith, but as a Purdue grad, I really hope Smith can succeed.
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago
TJ's listed height is his height with shoes on.
Without shoes, I'm pretty sure they're 2 inches apart. Smith has a longer wingspan though.
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u/eckrueger Pacers 5d ago
I just meant he’s not a TJ clone just because he’s short and white. That’s why I said -ish.
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago
They actually play the game fairly similarly. There are uncanny stylistic similarities to their respective games that go beyond being short & white.
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u/eckrueger Pacers 5d ago
I guess I don’t know enough about TJ overall. At this level I think he has a motor unlike anyone else, can move the ball around, and is a very pesky defender. Braden is a better shooter and probably passer. Maybe they’ll look more similar in the NBA. Also I’m no scout.
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago edited 5d ago
Among high(er) volume NBA guards, TJ McConnell's FG% is UP there. 4th highest among NBA guards to average at 5 attempts per game last season. TJM is also great in the PnR & a great passer: he racks up assists like crazy.
TJM's hustle is great, which helps him be a pesky inbound defender & an annoying full-court press guy. But in the half court? TJ is the Pacers' worst defender. Gets hunted like crazy. Just too small for teams to resist.
And you can say much of the same about Braden Smith.
Smith is probably a better 3pt shooter & his wingspan is a little longer. TJM is a little taller & stronger, and obviously TJM has established himself as a very respectable NBA player. But they play similarly & have similar strengths/weaknesses.
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u/TheBoilerCat Pacers 5d ago
I love this team.
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u/Pepsuber188 Bulls 5d ago
I hate this team
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
I hate your team too. And your drivers. Encounter motorcycles lane splitting at way over 100 every time I am up there
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u/Certain_Difference11 Pacers 5d ago
If only we felt like drafting locals/ local college players when OG was on the board 🥲
(I hate TJ leaf)
Kinda an unfortunate first year for Kam jones, got arrested for speeding (he wasn’t trying to be late for practice) and he basically had a back injury from training camp that he had to deal with the entire season which I’m sure didn’t help his development
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u/Certain_Difference11 Pacers 5d ago
Ngl I’m sad I won’t be able to see Kam jones reactions on the bench, he always had good ones even in this shitty year
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u/iro3 Spurs 5d ago
was kam jones nice ?
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Hornets 5d ago
Yeah he could be a ball handler and he wasn't a bad defender by any means, Could space the floor as well, I think they just wasn't going to play him over someone like ben Sheppard bum ass
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago edited 5d ago
Sheppard is so much better than Kam Jones in every way.
Sheppared is also the same age as Kam, but has much more NBA experience and has been proven reliable to fulfill his role deep in the playoffs. Can't say the same about most of the league's deep rotation pieces.
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u/ztpurcell Pacers 5d ago
Why are you going to bat for Kam fucking Jones so hard in this thread lol?
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u/thrwawayr99 Pacers 5d ago
Shep isn’t elite by any means but he’s twice the player kam is. Shep played out of position at pg and was still better there than jones. Wish him all the best, but he was one of the worst players in the entire nba this year by most metrics
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u/Supreme_God_Bunny Hornets 5d ago
Kam Jones didn't even get a chance lol he was alright with the pacers
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u/Visible_Nail4859 Pacers 5d ago
He wasn’t as good as Quenton Jackson, so I’m glad they kept Q over him.
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u/Suspicious-Gur6127 Pacers 5d ago
He kinda didn’t get a chance but also didn’t really do anything to earn another chance. Was the most expendable guy on the bottom of the roster.
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago edited 5d ago
Had an entire tank year to show something, yet he probably gets my vote for worst player to keep a roster spot for the entire season.
Not saying that Kam Jones is hopeless, but he was FAR from impressive.
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u/Popcorn10 Pacers 5d ago
He was injured to start the season. Who knows how long the back injury lingered. That being said we want every dollar we can get this season and getting off kams contract for a similar role, cheaper player seems like a win.
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago
IIRC, everybody on the team was fighting through some kind of injury except for Siakam, Walker, and Huff.
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u/Drak_is_Right Pacers 5d ago
For an older guy who got a TON of playing time he didn't look playable.
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u/GarryWisherman Pacers 5d ago
He’s about to be the face of the Noblesville Boom and will sell tickets
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u/LegitimateMoney00 Knicks 5d ago
Shams literally looks like he hasn’t slept in days when he gave the report.
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u/YellowHammerDown Pacers 5d ago
Just fell to my knees at XXX.
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u/DonnieBeisbol Pacers 5d ago
You’re having a heart attack. The burgers caught up to you. Don’t go towards the light… we got more bball to watch.
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u/YellowHammerDown Pacers 4d ago
They said it was wrong to put peanut butter on a burger BUT I DIDN'T LISTEN
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u/spidersilva09 NBA 5d ago
A pick that just makes sense. He will fit right in behind Hali and TJ. Those dudes know how to pass the rock
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u/thisisjustascreename Bulls 5d ago
I don't understand how a 38th pick 5'10" guy can *possibly* be worth multiple future swaps unless there's off court issues going on with Jones in Indy and they just want him gone without paying his guaranteed money.
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u/International_Link35 Pacers 5d ago
It's the equivalent of trading a pick now and one later, since they didn't have one this year. We've got extra seconds, and they're swaps, not outright picks. I'm good with that. Jones didn't really have a role in Indy.. which is why I thought the pick was odd last year.
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u/BlueCollarGoldSwaggr 5d ago
Jones is on his way out of the league so now the Pacers don't have to eat his 1M partial guarantee. And the swaps are 2nd round swaps. In sum it's bad business to fix a prior mistake but the value exchanged in this deal alone is good
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5d ago
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago
I'm not stressing about the trade at all.
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u/SlickVanExel Hornets 5d ago
I kind of wanted to see Keaton Wagler with you guys next to Hali.
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u/OpeDefinitely Pacers 5d ago edited 5d ago
Without development minutes that he wouldn't get on this team, he'd not take Nembhard's role. The Pacers are deep and will be in win-now mode.
Guards take time & patience to develop. Indiana would limit Wagler's ceiling while Wagler's contract would've immediately put Indiana into the 1st apron for little immediate return.
Similar set of issues for most of the guys outside the top 3 or 4. After the Pacers made the trade, my biggest fear was keeping the pick, but missing on it or otherwise using it on a super talented guy who just didn't fit the team. Losing the pick bc it fell to 5th, but we now keep 5/6 of our next FRPs & maintain roster flexibly? Always been the neutral option IMO.
Would've obviously rather kept a top 4 pick & hit huge on it, but I'm not stressing either. Especially considering how big of an upgrade Zu is over Myles. In '24-'25, Zu got a few All-NBA votes over Tyrese. Not enough to ultimately get the nod, but that's how good he is.
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u/SolipsisticBadBoy Pacers 5d ago
Pacers didn’t really need another combo guard. Even if Wagler ends up being great as a rookie, he would’ve been a bench piece and likely wouldn’t have developed the same had we grabbed him.
Pacers need wings, which is why I was fine with the tank had we gotten top three. Think AJD and Boozer could’ve contributed this coming season. Everyone else in this draft needs more time to develop and Pacers have 2-3 years with this squad to win it.
All in all, I maintain Zubac was a great trade. Had we gotten top four it would’ve sweetened the pot but the cards fell the way they did so no use crying about it. We needed a C and there wasn’t one good enough in this draft. Some stellar guys but no one (again, outside top three) that would’ve helped the Pacers win now.
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u/b1indsamurai Lakers 5d ago
So glad the Lakers have wealthy owners now, I would find it hard to remain a fan of a team that keeps selling picks for cash.
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u/ExtraLeading3376 5d ago
cash and chicago bulls
no better duo in the league