The Indiana Pacers made their first move of the offseason: Doug McDermott on a fully guaranteed 3 year, $22M contract. And you’re…what’s the phrase…less than impressed?
The newest Indiana Pacer, Doug McDermott, has had an interesting road in his still young NBA career. Two and a half years in Chicago, a cup of coffee in Oklahoma City. A cameo with the Knicks, lunch with the Mavericks. And now he returns to the heartland from whence he made his name as a college all-American (at Creighton).
He is not a star anymore. He probably won’t be one with the Pacers either, but he does possess a very valuable skill that NBA teams (including obviously the Pacers) covet. This 26-year-old can shoot.
He’s a career 40% shooter from three, twice he’s shot over 42% for a season. He was particularly accurate in Dallas when nearly batted .500 from three (49.4% in 26 games, mostly off the bench). If his Dallas slash line (48 FG%/ 49 3P%/ 86 FT%) can be extrapolated upon, it doesn’t take the oracles of Delphi to recognize what the Pacers see in him.
The Pacers needed to add perimeter shooting, specifically to the bench. Indiana also currently had two vacant roster spots behind Victor Oladipo at shooting-guard and Bojan Bogdanovic at small forward. Now McDermott isn’t much of option at the two-guard, but he is an American version of Bogdanovic who has had much success hitting threes in a reserve role.
Floor spacing wasn’t the biggest problem for the Pacers starters last year. Bogdanovic and Darren Collison both shot over 40% from deep, Turner can create space too (36%), but the Pacers shooting depth was shallow. McDermott should help with that. And if he can provide adequate space he’ll earn his money.
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Speaking of money. ESPN’s Zach Lowe pointed out that Indiana’s “overpay” for McDermott might have been necessary. The vast majority of the league has no cap space and are armed with mid-level exceptions to lure prospective free agents. McDermott wasn’t getting a full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($8.6M), but he probably could’ve gotten a tax player mid-level exception ($5.3M). Indiana is paying him $5M more (over three seasons) than he could’ve gotten from literally any other team. That’s how you ensure you land a player you want, by playing a hair over a million dollars a year more than your competitors.
He is far from a perfect player. He’s not a brilliant defender, shot creator, or playmaker. To be fair he also rarely turns the ball over, so it’s not all bad. Doug McDermott knows his strengths and weaknesses. While he’s not a good defender, he’s not apathetic either. While he doesn’t have Larry Bird’s gift for passing, he does generally make safe ones. And he’s not afraid to do what he does well, score, in a variety of ways.
Now, moving forward, the Pacers, by our estimates, still have around $13M in cap space, plus a $4.4M room exception.
But that number assumes none of Indiana’s six to seven core players (Oladipo, Collison, Bogdanovic, Turner, Thad Young, Domantas Sabonis, and Cory Joseph) are moved, not a lock. If the right deal comes along, that list of seven players could be trimmed to six and the Pacers will have more cap room as a result. Signing McDermott doesn’t eliminate Lance Stephenson’s backup shooting guard spot, although Glenn Robinson III appears much more tenuous.
There is still much to be sifted out.
But free agency’s opening night had its fireworks. What’s-his-face signed a four year deal with Oklahoma City, and alleged Pacers-target Jerami Grant is returning to the Thunder as well. DeAndre Jordan is allegedly going to Dallas and Trevor Ariza is headed to Phoenix.
There were “well, duh” moves too: Nikola Jokic signed an extension with Denver, Chris Paul did likewise with Houston, and Kevin Durant signed a one-plus-one to stay in Golden State.
Next: Remember when Indiana traded for Vic?
That “one-plus-one” means a one year deal with a player option for the second year, it’s a popular buzzword. Nothing yet on LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins, and Aaron Gordon. My friends, free agency has just begun. And the Pacers now have Doug McDermott.