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A big Pacers decision is looming regarding Edmond Sumner

By Tony East

HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 04: Edmond Sumner #5 of the Indiana Pacers drives between Bruno Caboclo #5 of the Houston Rockets and Eric Gordon #10 to the basket in the fourth quarter at Toyota Center on October 4, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - OCTOBER 04: Edmond Sumner #5 of the Indiana Pacers drives between Bruno Caboclo #5 of the Houston Rockets and Eric Gordon #10 to the basket in the fourth quarter at Toyota Center on October 4, 2018 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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The Indiana Pacers have a faux deadline coming up with Edmond Sumner’s contract.

The preseason was a fun time. Watching Edmond Sumner go off for a few games was a treat to watch, and the Indiana Pacers front office had to be happy to see their team have an unexpected addition of depth.

But once the regular season started, the magic of Sumner wore off. He’s only played 28 minutes the whole season, and since the G League season started up he’s only gotten 7:55 of playing time total with Indy. He hasn’t been able to do much, only amassing 5 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist. These are his only made shots for the entire season:

It has been an uphill battle for Sumner this season, but he didn’t just forget how to play. Maybe he had a hot shooting stretch during the preseason, but he isn’t as ineffective as he has shown this season either. Somewhere in between those two extremes is a somewhat talented young player.

And the Pacers have a decision coming up on that talented youngster. Sumner is currently on a two-way contract, which is fine. But on January 15th, the NBA’s deadline for teams to sign players to two-way contracts arrives. That means that if the Pacers want to promote Sumner to the full-time active roster instead of having him play in Fort Wayne, they need to make that decision by the 15th.

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Why? Because if the Indiana Pacers wait until after the 15th, they would be unable to replace his two-way contract spot on the roster, since the deadline to sign players to two-way contracts would have passed. Allowing the deadline to pass without signing a player would be poor roster management, and the Pacers surely wouldn’t make that mistake.

The front office could decide to keep Edmond Sumner on his two-way contract for the rest of the season and not promote him at all. That could be a fine option if that is really their plan. That would leave the Pacers final NBA roster spot open for them to do something else, like sign a free agent on the buyout market or use 10-day contracts.

Basically, what this decision comes down to is these questions: do the Indiana Pacers want Edmond Sumner on the NBA roster down the stretch (and thus, the playoff roster) or not? And what is the opportunity cost of doing so? If promoting Sumner means they can’t sign a better contributor, then they shouldn’t do it. But if Sumner is a part of the team’s long-term plans, they may consider promoting him in the next 2 weeks so that they can replace his two-way contract slot on the roster and have Sumner play with the big boys for the rest of the 2018-19 campaign.

Ultimately, I would guess that Sumner remains on his two-way contract the rest of the year. With the Pacers looking like a team that could do some real damage in the playoffs, the front office probably wants to use their last open roster spot on a postseason contributor, similar to bringing in Trevor Booker last year.

Plus, even if the team does decide to promote Sumner, would he even play? Aaron Holiday has jumped him in the guard rotation thanks to his emergence, so finding minutes for Sumner is nearly impossible. Combine that with the fact that he would be no help in the playoffs, and it’s pretty clear what decision the Pacers will make: they will almost certainly leave Sumner on his two-way contract.

Thankfully, he will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season anyway. They can bring him back no problem, regardless of if they convert his deal or not. Sumner might not get the call-up this year, but he will at some point.

Next. The Indiana Pacers’ biggest moment from 2018? The Bojan Bogdanovic Game. dark

All of this applies to the Pacers other two-way contract player, Davon Reed, too. But it is far more likely that Sumner gets his deal promoted than Reed, even though both are exceedingly unlikely. Keep an eye on this in the next two weeks, but don’t expect to see Sumner on the Pacers roster full-time this season.

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