Pacers Season Reviews: Doug McDermott finds his spots on the floor

Should the Pacers bring back Doug McDermott?

There’s a very good chance McBuckets arrives to training camp this fall for the second season of a 3 year, $22 million contract. However, he could potentially be playing in a different city, as well. His contract is fairly trade friendly and may be a necessary piece in a deal if the front office decided to bring in a bigger name player in a trade. McDermott doesn’t have the trade value alone to bring anything much more impactful to the team, therefore other assets would almost certainly be involved if a trade occurs.

McDermott seemed to fit the team’s culture and stated a desire to want to play in Indiana prior to signing his contract last July. During his introductory interview by the team, he was asked what stood out about Indiana over other teams; McDermott’s initial response was two words – the culture.

“Seeing how much better they got with Vic, I just wanted to be a part of it,” he said, “I’m thrilled. I grew up a Pacer fan so being able to put that uniform on is really special.”

“It’s refreshing to be back around good guys, not just on the floor, but good locker room guys,” he added.

For Pacers fans, it is refreshing to have players on the team who are happy to be in Indianapolis – cough cough. For McDermott, the security of signing a fully guaranteed, multi-year deal has to be encouraging, to some degree, after playing in four different cities in two seasons. The theme of unfinished business has to be underlying for the Pacers forward, as well as the returning members of the team, as they await their leaders return to the starting lineup.

The status of his spot on the team will remain a question throughout the summer. If Dougie McBuckets is on the roster next season, he’s probably going to be contributing positively off the bench. Even if he isn’t on the Pacers, he’s shown the consistency in his five seasons to be productive regardless of the uniform he’s in.