The Indiana Pacers are in “advanced discussions” with free agent point guard Aaron Brooks.
Are the Indiana Pacers in the market for another point guard?
Yes, if you ask the Vertical’s Shams Charania. He’s reporting that the Pacers are in “advanced discussions” with Aaron Brooks on a one-year deal.
Free agent guard Aaron Brooks is in advanced discussions on a one-year deal with the Indiana Pacers, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 11, 2016
So what would Brooks bring to the table for Indiana?
The eight-year NBA veteran has averaged 10.7 points and 3.2 assists a game in his career, though last season with the Chicago Bulls he averaged 7.1 points and 2.6 assists in 16.1 minutes a game. Those averages from last season in all three categories were some of the lowest in his career, though if you look at his per 100 possessions stats, he was as productive as ever.
So once you account for the fact he was getting the least amount of time on the court since his rookie season, those numbers don’t look so bad after all.
So if I’m trying to get in Larry Bird’s and Kevin Pritchard’s heads, I imagine the thinking here is to have another “pure” point guard — or someone close to that — to run the second unit.
If Brooks is signed, the biggest fallout will likely be for Shayne Whittington.
The Pacers currently have 14 players on their roster. But this does not include 2016 second-round draft pick Georges Niang, who the front office continues to talk up as someone who can, in the words of Larry Bird just two days ago, “help the team.” He seems guaranteed to get a deal once Summer League is over.
That pushes the roster to a maximum size of 15, leaving no room for Aaron Brooks.
To make space, the Pacers will likely waive one of the two players who have non-guaranteed contracts. Those two players? Whittington and Glenn Robinson III. And since Lil Dog saw some rotation minutes last season and is still considered to have a lot of upside, it’s hard to believe he is the one shown the door.
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So this move would probably mean the end of Whittington’s days as a Pacer.
This also could be bad news, to a lesser extent, for second-year point guard Joe Young.
It might be worth noting, however, that in the little time we’ve seen Young, he has higher assist averages and percentages than Brooks. Though Young was known as a shoot-first point guard in college, he hasn’t had a problem sharing the ball in the NBA.
But in experience, Brooks clearly has the edge over Young. Perhaps if coach Nate McMillan wants to get creative he could use Young as a shooting guard coming off the bench. But that’s pure speculation.
Next: Bird Denies Trying to Trade for Teague Last Season
We’ll update this story as information is available.