Center
Current Roster
Myles Turner, 23, signed through ’23 | Domantas Sabonis, 23, signed through ’20 | Kyle O’Quinn, 29, free agent
There is a notable amount of Pacers fans who believe either Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis will have to go, probably this summer. And the majority of those reasons are because of a lack of imagination or the events of the end of the season cloud the promise of two 23-year olds. And it’s true neither played well in the brief postseason series against Boston.
Something to note, and this is especially true for Sabonis, they had never played against a defense specifically designed to stop them. Boston’s bet was the Pacers’ best advantage was Sabonis and Turner, shut them down, series over. And so it was. The pair did adapt as the series progressed (first two games combined: 21 points, 34.8 FG%, 25 rebounds | last two games combined: 52 points, 43.9 FG%, 29 rebounds), but far too little too late.
But also a valuable learning experience for both of them. The challenge becomes how do they grow from failure. Both, to differing degrees, have displayed the ability to improve, and getting pounded by the Celtics will further cut their work out for them.
The intent will be for the centers to play together and this is where the term “center” convolutes things. Each excels at half of the typical task of a center. Turner’s half in on defense where he’s one of the best rim protectors in the league. Sabonis’ half is on offense where he’s one of the better playmaking centers in the league, with his strong post game, great court vision and creativity out of the pick-and-roll.
Playing them together is the future, just with them trading the position “center” depending on the end of the floor. The task at hand will be Turner continuing to improve off the ball both attacking and shooting from deep (which Turner likes to do anyway) and Sabonis needs to work on his footwork on the perimeter defensively (some hits, more misses).
The imagination part just deals with how trades can work, and not envisioning any other way to make a big trade without including one of these two. The Pacers own all of their draft picks both now and into the future, lots of young players and candidates for sign-and-trades, the horizon is long my friends.
Kyle O’Quinn played well as the third center, O’Quinn stayed ever-ready and played as well as one could expect given the circumstances. Resigning him on a minimum contract would make sense in the similar reserve role that he possessed this season.
But, if Indiana intends to play Sabonis and Turner together more, they’ll need a center in the second unit that is a better shot-blocker. Take Turner out of the middle and the defense lost its ballast, that’s a subtle but necessary area for improvement.
Free Agent Options
An under-the-radar player who could step in, off the bench and compliment both Sabonis and Turner would be Atlanta’s Dewayne Dedmon. The Hawks seem to be moving in a direction away from the soon-to-be 30-year old Dedmon, who was a regular starter for the Hawks over the last two seasons. Dedmon’s spent most of his career in a reserve role, so the task he’d be facing in Indiana would be a familiar one.
A couple of other young reserves would be Phoenix’s Richaun Holmes and Golden State’s Kevon Looney. Holmes is not much of a jump shooter but had an impressive season as a backup with the Suns packing in 8 points, 5 rebounds and a block into 16 minutes of work. Looney has impressed by playing through a chest injury in the NBA Finals and the Warriors just seem to play better when he’s on the floor as opposed to when he’s off.
Trade Options
Eh, not really, or not as a one-off, unless you could pry Montrezl Harrell away from the Clippers. This does not mean that there won’t be reserve centers on the trade market, but most of them will be there because they’re overpaid, and if the Pacers want to improve the entire roster they need to be judicious in whom they pay. Between the draft, maintaining the status quo, and free agency, there are better avenues to find a second shot blocker than via trade.
A Draft Option
This draft has more than it’s fair share of centers, and although Gonzaga’s Brandon Clarke was listed at the NBA Draft Combine as a small forward, he’s a five by game. The telling point of his game is his timing and ferocity. He’s similar to Alonzo Mourning in that way, undersized for his time but you wouldn’t know it by how he plays. There are two big ( and legitimate) knocks against him, which wouldn’t matter to the team that only wants him for his strengths. The first is he rarely took threes or jump shots.
Clarke has spent most of the pre-draft process trying to prove to teams that he can shoot, but no matter how convincing he is, he didn’t do it regularly at Gonzaga. The second is his size or lack thereof. His success isn’t so much from his measurables but because of his athleticism, which can, and will, wane with time. Those would be bigger concerns if you’re viewing him as a long-term cornerstone, but if you need a second shot-blocker, who can screen, roll and occasionally pop, then those concerns are mitigated greatly.
Other options: plenty of shot blockers: Florida State’s Mfiondu Kabengele and Maryland’s Bruno Fernando. Second rounders: the rim-runner Daniel Gafford (Arkansas) and the versatile Jontay Porter (Missouri).
Now on to the second part of the Matthes Manifesto III.