Rumor: Eric Maynor, 18 and 21 to the Pacers for No. 10? (Updated)
UPDATE: Marc Spears of Yahoo! reports the deal was discussed but is now “doubtful”.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! just reported on Twitter that the Thunder and Pacers are in “serious talks” about a deal involving Eric Maynor, OKC’s 18th and 21st picks and the 10th overall pick held by Indiana. (Update: Chad Ford and Andy Katz are also reporting this too.)
I definitely don’t love that deal, and that’s not just because I like Eric Maynor a lot. But it’s pretty clear that today’s trade bringing Daequan Cook and the 18th pick to OKC was just the beginning. Presti is really cooking something up, but what it exactly is, isn’t really clear. Eric Maynor is nothing more than a quality backup point guard which isn’t the hardest thing in the world to replace. And I’m sure Maynor would love to go to Indy and become their starting point man right away. But for a team as desperate as Indiana to acquire a point guard, it just seems like a big price to pay for No. 10.
Who is Presti targeting? Will Greg Monroe last to No. 10? Possibly. Draft Express reported that the Warriors are extremely interested in Ekpe Udoh at six. The teams drafting seven to nine (Pistons, Clippers, Jazz) aren’t locks to draft a big man, but chances are pretty good they will. The Pistons have liked Ed Davis for a while, but if Monroe fell in their lap, I’m sure they’d have to think about it. And I don’t think Monroe would make it past Utah either.
DX also reported that OKC likes Cole Aldrich and Udoh at 10. If the Thunder got there, their options would open some as to what big man they could get, but is it really worth it? Is Aldrich worth Eric Maynor and two picks? Is Udoh, who is basically a watered down Serge Ibaka? Maybe Presti knows something and is expecting Monroe to fall, which would be fantastic but probably a pipe dream. Just getting to 18 opened up a number of new options, but drafting 10th would welcome a bunch of new faces into the equation. Patrick Patterson, Udoh, Aldrich, Al Farouq-Aminu, maybe Monroe and Ed Davis. But again, are those guys worth Maynor and two picks? I don’t really think so.
Whatever the case, don’t go anywhere. Stuff is going down and this is starting to get good. At this point, if Presti traded the 51st pick for Kyle Korver and the ninth pick, I don’t think I’d be surprised.