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Matthes’ Manifesto: The Indiana Pacers comprehensive summer preview

By Jonathan Matthes

Indiana Pacers (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
Indiana Pacers (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – APRIL 10: Glenn Robinson III #40 of the Indiana Pacers is seen during the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 10, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – APRIL 10: Glenn Robinson III #40 of the Indiana Pacers is seen during the game against the Charlotte Hornets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on April 10, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. /

The rest of the Pacers’ roster

Secondary Scorer — Indiana does need a counter-punch to pair with Oladipo. You just can’t go 0-7 when your best player doesn’t play, nor is it smart to bank your entire offense on one player. The Pacers need a player who consistently scores in the 17-20 point range or better and can dependably take the lead when called upon. If that player is on the roster (Turner and Sabonis being the leading candidates) he didn’t reveal himself last year. If Pritchard doesn’t acquire one this offseason he’s tempting fate.

Glenn Robinson III — After an injured start to the season, it’s most fair to call his 2017-18 a push. When he did play he was caked in rust, but he did shoot well from three in a very small sample size (he was 14-for-34, 41.2%). If he could stretch that out for a full season, that would be just what the doctor ordered to boost the Pacers bench. The question would be how much will he get on the open market? Probably not much, and if that is the case Indiana should strongly consider keeping him around on a prove-it contract. If Robinson leaves, deepening the small forward position becomes a necessity.

Indiana has almost unarguably the cleanest cap-sheet in the league. Oladipo’s combined $42M is the only significant salary on the books for 2019 and 2020. That means that as long as the Pacers play it smart they could be players not only in this year’s offseason but the next two as well. Just avoid the bad contracts.

Because this is a manifesto and all, we’re breaking this down into a few chapters. The next chapter is the outlook on the rest of the NBA, but feel free to skip around.

Next: Matthes' Manifesto: The rest of the NBA's outlook

  • If you want to go navigate back to the beginning of Matthes’ Manifesto, click here.
  • To check out how the rest of the NBA affects the Pacers, click here.
  • To look at Indiana’s realistic targets in the draft, click here.
  • To see which guards they should target in trades, click here.
  • To see which forwards they should target in trades, click here.
  • To see which free agents they should target, click here.
  • For a modest proposal, click here.
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