Assessing Davon Reed’s potential impact on the Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers recently added Davon Reed to the organization. How can he contribute to the team?

The Indiana Pacers brought in swingman Davon Reed on a two-way contract. The former 32nd overall pick for the Suns in 2017, Reed missed much of his rookie season due to recovery from a meniscus injury. Once healthy, he appeared in 21 games averaging 11.5 minutes per game, netting one start.

His stat line is typical for a young player with little volume, posting 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 28.9% from the field and 28.9% from three. When you inflate those numbers to per-40, they rise to 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 steals. Despite his abysmal efficiency last season, Reed’s shooting should come around, as he shot 39.7% on six attempts per game during his senior season at Miami (FL).

Reed possesses a lot of intriguing tools that the Pacers will covet. He is the prototypical three-and-D wing, standing at 6’6″, 210 pounds with a 7’1″ wingspan. He shoots the ball well, is a patient and smart player, and has excellent defensive instincts. Let’s get into his tape from his rookie season.

Davon Reed stands out on the defensive end. His tools and effort alone make him a competent performer on the less glamorous side of the ball but his instincts make me believe that he could be a real defensive piece in the future. He reads offenses like a free safety, patrolling the court and making plays on the ball while scanning and seeing everything that is happening off-ball.

One thing I noticed about Reed is that he is always in a stance: low and swiveling his head. Working on the backside of the play, Reed steps up to help on the drive without fouling, using his wingspan and body control to force a turnover:

Once again, Reed, despite being assigned to the sharpshooting Omri Casspi, recognizes that Nick Young beat Josh Gray on the post-spin. He stays in the paint and elevates to erase the bucket:

Reed is active and tenacious working through screens and handoffs. Here he blows up the dribble handoff, dives on the floor, and starts the break:

Again fighting through a Jonathan Motley screen, Reed goes the wrong way around and gambles on the steal. Still, he sticks with the play, recovers, and uses his length to challenge the shot:

In this play, Reed puts his advanced ability to rotate correctly and read defenders on display. Justin Jackson beats his man baseline and Reed immediately reads this (get it?). He forces the errant pass, which he then deflects with his long arms, forcing a turnover:

We’re saving the best for last in the defense segment. I could spend an entire article gushing over this play but I’ll keep this as short as I can. This play is a testament to Reed’s tremendous defensive feel for the game. Defending in transition, Reed directs traffic. Bismack Biyombo is running free to the rim so Reed stunts at him to deter Mack’s pass. He then reads Mack’s eyes, springs out and intercepts the pass to the wing:

On the offensive end, Reed isn’t going to be anything spectacular. However, his three-point shot should eventually come around. He has great form on his jumper:

He’s solid off of catch and shoot and can work off the ball, creating space and using good footwork to rise up and get his shot:

Reed has the ability to attack a closeout and make the defense pay after his matchup runs him off of the three-point line, finishing here with the nifty euro-step:

He gets Draymond Green off of his feet here, kicking out to Jared Dudley for the easy three when David West steps up to cut off the drive:

Here, Reed gets the defender jumping, attacks, and finds Marquese Chriss with the no-look pass for the layup:

Although Davon Reed didn’t run the pick and roll last season enough to have his stats on synergy, he did show flashes of ability when doing it. He puts his defender on his back on the side pick and roll before bounce passing to Chriss for the score:

Reed beats Shaun Livingston middle here and busts out the crowd-pleasing one-handed scoop pass to Dragan Bender for the bunny:

Brandon Paul initially cuts off Reed’s baseline drive here but he makes up for sub-par burst with craft and footwork; then a spin back to the middle gets him a layup:

Davon Reed doesn’t have a place on the Indiana Pacers’ current roster due to their staggering amount of depth. He will spend plenty of time honing his craft in Fort Wayne, working on his offensive creation ability. If the Pacers did need someone else to come and play on the wing for whatever reason (injuries or whatever), Reed could contribute nicely. He is an ideal signing.