Who will take over as the veteran leader for the Indiana Pacers?
By Ryan Eggers
Entering a fresh season with a brand-new roster, who will step up to be the veteran leader of this year’s Indiana Pacers squad?
The departure of Thaddeus Young for the Indiana Pacers means change for the makeup of the locker room. While the team will surely miss his hustle, aggressive defense and fine touch in the paint, Young brought something to the squad that goes beyond the box score: veteran leadership.
It’s been him throughout the Victor Oladipo era. In the Paul George era, it was David West. Every roster iteration has somebody who has seen everything in the NBA — somebody who can hold a steady hand and show the young players their way through the league.
Young will serve that role on the Chicago Bulls well, but he leaves the Pacers without a solidified veteran leader for the near future. With guys like Bojan Bogdanovic and Cory Joseph exiting the team in free agency as well, many of the top candidates for the role are no longer in Indiana.
That doesn’t leave them without solid options, though. Recent signee Justin Holiday is not only the oldest player on the team, but already holds the title of older brother to young point guard Aaron Holiday.
Myles Turner, on the other hand, is only 23 years old, but is actually the longest-tenured Pacer on the roster. Malcolm Brogdon brings plenty of leadership experience from his days in Milwaukee, and of course, Victor Oladipo is a natural fit to take over the role as well.
Ultimately, though, what makes a player thrive as a veteran leader? Where do the current candidates on the Indiana Pacers fall on that spectrum? Let’s take a look at each of the main suspects and figure out why or why not they can fill in the kind of veteran presence Young brought to the team last year.