2017-18 Pacers Player Reviews: Lance Stephenson

Whats Next, Lance?

So, with a solid first full season back home with the Pacers where does Lance Stephenson go from here? As beloved a role player as you’ll ever find, Lance figures to be around for a while. He’s still relatively young at 27 and skilled enough to contribute in a big way off the bench. He may never be pre-Charlotte Lance when he was a near all-star, but he doesn’t need to be.

More importantly, he knows the grass isn’t greener because he’s been there. With a team option for just over $4 million, Lance is likely to be back in the blue and gold. Even if Kevin Pritchard and co. wanted to restructure the deal it’s hard to imagine Stephenson wouldn’t take pennies on the dollar to return to the place he calls home.

That being said, it is still likely to be a contract year for Lance. This is part of the reason I think this coming season could be his best since he left almost 4 years ago. He can be a versatile weapon off the bench playing both wings spots, and he can play lead guard in a pinch.

Lance was a solid contributor this year even though he never really found the touch from the outside. On paper, he fits well with projected backup point Cory Joseph. The fit relies mostly on how aggressive Stephenson plays. Cojo is a defensive menace, but not much of a playmaker. Lance can be that playmaker/scorer, he just needs to bring more consistency.

With a year under his belt with this new team and not much roster turnover expected, his consistency figures to rise.

Next: For the first time in 15 years, Indianapolis is a basketball city

Through good Lance and through bad Lance, he’s Indiana’s Lance and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon. He always has a place here, and he was exactly what he needed to be this past season.