Indiana Pacers
The draft night acquisition of T.J. Warren has reduced the threat posed by the Pacers, although they could still open a max slot, or very close to it, if they wished to pursue Middleton.
That wouldn’t necessarily be enough to make them a credible contender in the Middleton sweepstakes in its own right, but coupled with various reports of their interest in the Milwaukee wing in recent minutes, they certainly warrant close attention.
Prior to the trade deadline, ESPN’s Zach Lowe reported that rumblings around the league were suggesting Middleton as the Pacers’ best case signing this summer:
"“Who is Indiana signing in free agency that is better than Conley? (One potential answer, sources say: Middleton. But luring a good player away from a contending team like the Bucks is really hard unless Milwaukee gets too cute in negotiations with Middleton.)”"
Even more recently, ESPN’s Bobby Marks echoed that same sentiment in conversation with Stephen A. Smith.
“Keep an eye on Indiana here with Khris Middleton. Don’t be surprised if Indiana comes in, with a MAX offer for him, and has him play along Victor Oladipo...they’ve got $30M to burn and I don’t see them going the 1-2 year route again” - Bobby Marks on The Stephen A Smith Show
— Setting The Pace🏀🎙 (@SettingThePace3) June 10, 2019
With Bojan Bogdanovic set to hit free agency, Middleton would make for a major upgrade for the Pacers on the wing. The problem with any pursuit of Middleton is with Victor Oladipo expected to remain sidelined until the turn of the year, and Darren Collison also set to hit free agency, the Pacers will desperately need to find a playmaking guard too.
It would currently be a stretch too far to add Middleton and still have anything meaningful left over to offer guards, but the Pacers have routes to changing that — such as finally making a decision on their Myles Turner vs. Domantas Sabonis quandary, rather than committing to playing the two together.