The Trade That Might Have Saved Caris LeVert

Caris LeVert remembers thinking he had been waiting a lot longer than usual for the results of a routine medical exam.

It was Friday, Jan. 15, and LeVert had just been traded to the Pacers in a landscape-altering move that sent former MVP James Harden to Brooklyn. The night before, LeVert packed a couple of suitcases and caught a late-night flight with his brother, Darryl, from New York to Indianapolis. LeVert only had to complete his physical before he could join his teammates in Los Angeles, where they were in the middle of a road trip.

The Pacers included a lower back MRI in their physical, something many teams don't do. LeVert thought nothing of the procedure and had been in the hospital…