(1) The best trade would have to be sending Jimmy Dawson, Ron Kozlicki and $100,000 to the Minnesota Muskies for Mel Daniels in May of 1968. The Pacers gave up two guys who hadn't been major factors for them the first season and a relatively small amount of money for a future two-time league MVP and Naismith Hall of Famer.

You're probably thinking in terms of the NBA, though. In that case, I call it a tie between the one that sent Herb Williams to Dallas for Detlef Schrempf during the 1987-88 season and the major deal with Chicago that sent Jalen Rose, Travis Best and Norm Richardson for Ron Artest, Brad Miller, Kevin Ollie and Ron Mercer.

Williams was 30 years old and in decline, while Schrempf was 25 and on the rise. He was voted Sixth Man of the Year with the Pacers twice, and was an All-Star in 1993.

Despite all the issues involving Artest, I thought the deal with Chicago - the largest in franchise history at the time - was a really good one for the Pacers. Rose no longer fit with the team as well, given the rise of younger players such as Jermaine O'Neal, Al Harrington and Jonathan Bender. Best was a veteran in the last year of his contract, and had been supplanted by Jamaal Tinsley. He wanted a trade.

Artest and Miller were All-Stars with the Pacers, Ollie made a lot of contributions off the bench (he's the guy who found Reggie Miller in heavy traffic for that banked-in 40-footer that forced overtime in the playoff game in New Jersey) and Mercer had some good games as well.