5 free agent wings the Pacers should avoid

Hunter Kuffel

Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

The Pacers will likely have more cap space this July than we expected them to. We hope they use it wisely, and not on these free agent wings.

This NBA offseason is already off the rails. Superstars have switched teams, more will surely follow and the Knicks are Knicks-ing all over the place. The Pacers will have more money to spend than they expected, due to Paul George forcing his way out, but there are an awful lot of players out there that they should pass on. Below are five free agent wings that will probably get signed to bad contracts this summer, but hopefully not by the Pacers.

Without Paul George and possibly without Jeff Teague, the Pacers are fully in rebuild mode, and while “bottoming out” hasn’t been an option for Indiana in the past, they should still have an eye on the future while they build a team that can more or less compete this year. These players would hamstring future flexibility without moving any needles this season.

It’s also not like these guys are the only options for the Pacers this summer. There are plenty of younger, more athletic wings on the market this summer that Indiana could pay that wouldn’t mortgage the future quite as much as these guys would. Let’s jump in with a guy who Larry Bird somehow never signed.

Rudy Gay

After making it clear approximately 15 minutes after arriving that he wasn’t long for Sacramento, Rudy Gay will finally be signing with another team. In no universe should that team be the Pacers.

Jeff Green

Do I really need a slide here? Could I just call up the Celtics and have them tell you why Jeff Green is a bad idea? How about the Grizzlies? The Clippers? The Magic? Green won’t stop until he’s swindled every team in the league out of $10-15 million, and more power to him.

Pacers, please don’t fall for it. He’s bad.

Green is another one of these veterans who comes in and is supposed to improve things but somehow makes absolutely zero impact on winning. He might be great as a stealth tank option, and I’m not necessarily ready to rule him out on those grounds, but that doesn’t seem to be Kevin Pritchard’s goal, point Lance aside.

Green hasn’t shot an above-average percentage from 3-point range since the 2012-2013 season, despite taking over a third of his shot attempts from deep last year. He registered a -4.6 box plus-minus last season, and while that stat is certainly flawed, it’s accurate enough to tell a team that Jeff Green isn’t worth it.

I should say, most of these claims should come with the qualifier “if their price is what I expect them to be.” I have no problem with the Pacers signing Rudy Gay to a really cheap deal. I just don’t think he’ll do that. I do have a problem with the Pacers signing Jeff Green to any deal, though, and I won’t apologize for that.

Dante Cunningham

Dante Cunningham is a classic NBA journeyman, having played for five teams already in his eight-year career. He’s nominally a power forward, but has mostly played the three in New Orleans over the last three seasons thanks to their glut of big men.

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With Cunningham, he might help the team, and he probably won’t be expensive. I just don’t see the point in signing him. He’s not a veteran that will command a large presence in the locker room and help Myles Turner run the team, at least I don’t think he will be. I’m not in the locker room, so I don’t know for sure.

He’s a warm body that can kind of hit shots, if last season is to be believed as anything but an outlier. He’s a bad rebounder for 6-foot-8, and despite the last few seasons, he should be a power forward. The Pacers have Thad Young and T.J. Leaf for that.

There are much better, more strategic ways to use cap space this summer. Cunningham is too old to be able to grow with Turner. The Pacers would be much better off taking on bad deals and collecting assets rather than signing blah free agents like him.

Tyreke Evans

I don’t want to say Tyreke Evans has been riding on a really strong rookie season for eight years, so I’ll just vaguely imply it.

Included as salary filler in the DeMarcus Cousins trade last season, Evans found himself back in Sacramento, where he spent the first four years of his career. He wasn’t exactly thrilled to be returning and will surely be seeking a new home on July 1. Hopefully, that home isn’t Indianapolis.

Evans has struggled with injuries recently, playing only 65 games over the last two seasons. Like Rudy Gay, he’s made his money as a ball-dominant scorer who doesn’t like to shoot 3s.

He’s tried to stretch behind the arc more in recent years with mild success, but he’s still not someone who will space the floor if you leave him in the corner. 3-point shooting loses a lot of its benefit if it doesn’t come with gravity. Defenses need to respect you out on the arc, otherwise the spacing is just as clogged as it would be if you couldn’t shoot a lick from 3.

The Pacers already have one controversial combo guard on the roster. They don’t need another. Evans is a bad defender, a nothing-special passer and an inefficient overall offensive player, and that’s only when he’s healthy enough to be on the court.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute

If the Pacers do want to sign Luc Mbah a Moute then sign Russell Westbrook and coax Reggie Miller out of retirement to form an all UCLA alum team, then I will completely change my tune on this one.