Indiana sent Danny Granger and a 2015 second-round pick to Philadelphia for Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen during its 2014 title push; Turner struggled to fit, but Allen supplied several seasons of reserve value.
The Pacers entered the 2014 deadline with championship expectations and a former All-Star, Danny Granger, who had been diminished by injuries. Philadelphia was rebuilding and willing to move Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen for Granger and a future second-round pick. Indiana's basketball logic was straightforward: exchange an expiring veteran who no longer had a major role for a younger secondary creator and a usable reserve big.
Turner arrived after averaging 17.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists for a poor 76ers team, but those numbers came with the ball and a starting role. Indiana needed him to fit behind Paul George and Lance Stephenson, defend consistently, and create without controlling the offense. The adjustment never settled. His efficiency remained modest, his role shrank, and he was removed from the rotation during part of the postseason.
Allen was treated as secondary in the initial reaction, yet he stayed with the Pacers beyond Turner's brief tenure and supplied several seasons of backup frontcourt minutes. He rebounded, defended stronger players, and accepted a limited role without requiring touches. That modest but real continuity is the strongest argument for Indiana's B. The Pacers did not acquire a difference-maker, but they did obtain more usable playing value than the headline suggested.
Granger never played for the 76ers. Philadelphia completed a buyout less than a week after the trade, using the transaction to clear Turner's and Allen's future considerations and add a 2015 second-round pick. That pick became Luka Mitrovic, who did not provide NBA production for Philadelphia. The Sixers achieved their rebuilding objective, but the realized return remained limited to flexibility and an asset that failed to become a rotation player.
Indiana's post-deadline decline and Turner's reported friction with Stephenson made the trade a lasting symbol of a contender losing cohesion. That context matters, but it does not prove Granger would have reversed the season. He was also limited and later contributed little in the playoffs for the Clippers. The fairest judgment separates the emotional cost of moving a respected leader from the actual on-court value exchanged.
The Pacers received an unsuccessful short-term Turner experiment and a useful multi-year reserve in Allen. Philadelphia received a late second, financial flexibility, and no Granger games. Neither side created major value. Indiana's B and Philadelphia's C-plus therefore support a narrow Pacers advantage rather than an even ruling. The separation comes from Allen's retained rotation service, not from pretending Turner solved Indiana's postseason problems.
Indiana earns a slight edge. Evan Turner never became the playoff upgrade the Pacers envisioned, but Lavoy Allen supplied several seasons of useful reserve minutes. Philadelphia bought out Danny Granger almost immediately and the acquired second-round pick did not become an NBA contributor for the franchise. The deal was modest and Indiana's chemistry concerns remain part of the history, yet the realized value still favors the Pacers. Grades remain Indiana B and Philadelphia C-plus; the verdict becomes Slight Pacers Edge.