Three Buy-Out Candidates for the Indiana Pacers

1. Bismack Biyombo

This is another addition of a Giannis and Embiid stopper, but this one is more dependent on the Charlotte Hornets falling out of the playoff race sooner rather than later. The Hornets are a young team and with Cody Zeller holding another year on his contract, Bismack Biyombo would be a more likely buy-out candidate.

Some fans may remember him from the year he tore up the Pacers in the playoffs while a member of the Toronto Raptors. He’s still the same high-energy, springy big, but that series was definitely his high-water mark.

He is a healthier option to Mahimni, having played at least 81 games in three of the last four seasons. He would also be filling that same bench center role and with nearly 2 blocks per 36 over the last four years, he gives an extra layer of defense inside.

His switchability would also give the Pacers more to work with against pick-and-role heavy teams. He’s a more fluid defender that many players his size. This allows him to stay with and contest shots when forced out to the perimeter. FiveThirtyEight’s DRAYMOND metric graded him in the top tier of defenders since the 2013-14 season.

Another helpful part of Biyombo’s game is he finally seems to be finding his niche on offense. This season he is posting a career best player efficiency rating (17.9) and offensive rating (122!), but also isn’t the type of player that needs plays ran for him (17 percent usage rate). He is more than fine making a living off of dirty work, which means he would be a perfect addition to this Indiana Pacers’ bench.