The Indiana Pacers aren’t messing around. On Friday, the Pacers used their full room exception on former Knicks center Kyle O’Quinn. What does the newest Pacer bring to Indiana?
Kyle O’Quinn doesn’t scowl very well.
At least it’s not his natural disposition, he’s typically jolly. A broad smile stretched across his bearded face, paired with a chuckle reverberating from his throat. He’s like Santa Claus if Santa Claus was a physically intimidating 6’10” center who earns his paycheck battling with the bruisest bruisers the NBA has to offer.
When he’s mad, he rarely looks angry, more disappointed than anything. I guess it’s impossible for a man of good humor to not get at least occasional frustrated grappling for the rebounds that he has to grapple for. Kyle O’Quinn snagged 470 of them last year, 349 of which were on defense. 1,931 have come to him over his six-year career, split evenly between the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks.
And now he’s an Indiana Pacer, after Indiana signed him, with its room exception, to a one year, $4.449M contract.
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Kyle O’Quinn heads to the Crossroads of American fresh off the best two seasons of his career where he averaged 6.7 ppg (on 55.2% shooting) with 5.9 rebounds while missing just 8 games. 88.5% of the games he did play came from the bench. A very good thing for Indiana in this case.
Playing off the bench is not always the easiest of transitions for players. You don’t have the luxury of warming up. Players have to instantaneously play at their highest level after chilling out courtside for a quarter or more. If a player truly excels at that role, a long career awaits him. Good teams always need good bench players to supplement its starters.
Good bench players, like Kyle O’Quinn.
Like Trevor Booker before him, O’Quinn will add a hustling rebounder to a lineup that could use one. Before the Pacers signed Booker last year (on March 3), Indiana averaged 16.4 rebounds per game, 14th in the league. After signing Booker Indy grabbed 17.5 rebounds, ninth overall. O’Quinn is a better rebounder than Booker.
That seems to be a trend this offseason. Indiana has identified a need and found players that excel exactly were the Pacers were lacking, or insufficient. Aaron Holiday provides a better all-around game over Indy’s former third point guard, Joe Young. Doug McDermott provides a significant boost in three-point shooting. Tyreke Evans is a better playmaker than Lance Stephenson. And now O’Quinn is a boost over the serviceable Booker.
O’Quinn possesses nimble feet and is tricky when he’s part of the action at the top of the key. You can give him the ball, and if no one bodies him, he has an array of feints to get successfully to the basket. But O’Quinn also has terrific vision. He can spot the open man in the corner, zip a pass to him while driving, leading open buckets while the defense scrambles. He’s a fluid and decisive passer.
He’s not a great shooter, well, not a great three-point shooter. His true shooting was 62%, and he sunk 71% of his shots from inside three feet. But, he’s not reckless either, he’s not going to run around Josh Smith-style chucking threes that aren’t going in. It’s one of the reasons he’s such a valuable bench player, O’Quinn knows his strengths and his role and plays them well.
O’Quinn affords the Pacers matchup flexibility. Unless something dramatic happens Indiana will have a post rotation comprised of this quintet: Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, Thad Young, O’Quinn and T.J. Leaf. The featured players (and who’s development the fate of the Pacers rest’s upon) is Turner and Sabonis. The pair should be able to play together. Sabonis excels in the post on offense, Turner likes to shoot from the outside. Turner excels in the post on defense, Sabonis needs to prove he can guard passably on the perimeter. The pair will get plenty of opportunities to keep testing it out this season. KOQ can give them a breather.
Leaf gives Indiana range at the four, Young offers versatility, and O’Quinn offers muscle. Coach Nate McMillan will be able to mix and match these different, yet complementary, skill sets depending on the scenario. O’Quinn and Turner should be a particularly tantalizing pairing, with O’Quinn excelling in areas where Turner is hesitant. That’s not an excuse for Turner to not improve as a rebounder. The more well-rounded the better, but it’s not bad to hedge your bets.
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As with the other moves this offseason, adding the Jolly Giant to the roster has improved this team. Indiana might not be the flashiest remaining contender, but they may be the deepest, with respect to Toronto. Indiana returns the same stellar starting five, but will now compliment it with a much sturdier bench. There are still a couple full-time roster spots to fill. Maybe a shooter will follow. Maybe another wing. Either way whomever joins Indiana will join a Pacers team that’s better than the one that lost in to Cleveland three months ago. O’Quinn is a big part of that.