How Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb fit with the Indiana Pacers

Back Court/Wings

Oladipo and Lamb will give the Pacers two attacking, aggressive threats from the wing; Oladipo as the primary threat, Lamb doing his damage off the ball. Brogdon will the the stable ball-handler, who can share those duties with Oladipo and provide steady reliable offense and three-point shooting. A bigger role will be waiting for Aaron Holiday. The money isn’t there anymore to spend on an improved backup point from the outside. It’s likely Holiday’s job. He showed flashes of creation and playmaking, but he’ll need to do it full-time now, filling the vacuum likely left by Cory Joseph.

Room is still there to add more shooting. Someone like Seth Curry would be a nice fit. Maybe not specifically Curry, but someone like him. Otherwise, the last guard on the roster is Sumner, who can, in theory, play three positions and do all sorts of athletic things. He just hasn’t stepped onto the court without looking completely lost yet.

These moves leave one final true small forward on the roster: Doug McDermott. His floor spacing will be invaluable now. I’m aware of the reservations about his shooting from this past season. What gets lost from his apparent less-than-savory debut campaign with the Pacers was that he shot 49% from three on the road, opposed to 31% at home. That’s an impossible statistical divide that has to be unrepeatable.

Putting it together, there are five main rotational pieces in these positions: Oladipo, Brogdon, and Lamb as the starters with Holiday and McDermott backing them up. Further tinkering could come here. The Pacers really could use another shooter, maybe targeting one with that room exception we talked about.