Indiana Pacers: Re-grading the T.J. McConnell signing

The Indiana Pacers signed T.J. McConnell to a two-year, $7 million contract this summer. Let’s see how that’s panned out so far.

T.J. McConnell has played over 60 games since signing his contract with the Indiana Pacers. Let’s take a look back and give that transaction a regrade with some real play to evaluate.

After going undrafted in 2015, McConnell fought hard to carve out a spot in this league. Standing at just 6-foot-1, he’s had to fight stereotypes about being a lesser player because of his size and had to face very real limitations that come along with his physique.

Starting his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, McConnell joined the team at what would be perfect timing for both him and the franchise.

He was offered a “prove-it” contract, a non-guaranteed deal that leaves many players sitting in anxiety over whether or not their dream will actualize. Each day there’s a possibility you can be cut and be out of a job and see the end of the road come far quicker than you wanted on your dream of playing in the NBA.

His rookie season was a feel-good story, but it felt like that may be the end of the road for him, at least in Philly. Philly faced a lot of injuries throughout their rebuild, and one of McConnell’s top abilities was his availability. He played in 81 games in each of his first two seasons and 76 in each of the next two.

McConnell predicated his game on his passing, averaging 4.7 assists per game throughout his time in Philadelphia in 22.0 minutes per game. He doesn’t tend to light the scoreboard up, but averaged 6.4 points per game on 48.7 percent shooting from the field.

His 3-point shot is anything but consistent, but when he’s wide open he can hit them. While in Philly he sank 33.5 percent of his 0.8 attempts beyond the arc.

It was clear coming out of the 2018-19 season that McConnell wasn’t going to be a Sixer much longer. Ben Simmons was firm as their starting point guard and the team was priding itself on its defense. McConnell did everything he could on the defensive end — his effort was never a question — but didn’t have the length or size to properly deter opponents from blowing past him.

That, and the fact that McConnell was due for a contract well beyond the $1.6 million Philly had him on last season forced him to evaluate other options in free agency this summer.

How much did the Indiana Pacers agree to pay T.J. McConnell?

T.J. McConnell landed in Indiana on a two-year, $7 million contract. With Victor Oladipo out until early January, the team had a need in the backup point guard slot that McConnell would slide into nicely.

That price point is solid. Some guards that got cheaper deals this summer — Rajon Rondo, Quinn Cook, J.J. Barea, Raul Neto. None of those players have a higher PER than McConnell (16.2) so far this season, and some of those players landed with teams that felt predetermined. It seems that for the price, McConnell was one of the best options available.

Was the T.J. McConnell contract a good deal for the Indiana Pacers?

That contract has worked out well for the most part. McConnell has appeared in 63 games, starting 3, and averaged 6.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game. His points, rebounds, and assists are all at career highs per 36 minutes in 2019-20 so far.

McConnell’s Box Plus/Minus is the fourth-best on the roster this season of players that have logged at least 100 minutes, and he has the team’s third-most win shares per 48 minutes. He leads the team in assist percentage despite falling at third overall in assists per game (a testament to how good of a job Malcolm Brogdon and Domantas Sabonis are doing at getting their teammates involved).

While we mentioned his shooting as a negative mark on his game to this point, he’s flashing a career-high percentage from the charity stripe at 83.3 percent, often a signal of improved shooting mechanics or confidence.

McConnell’s size will continue to limit his ability to get his shots up over taller defenders, but the improved free-throw shooting is encouraging nonetheless as it’s evidence for McConnell’s game diversifying further.

Beyond his stats and production on the court, he’s frequently seen talking to his teammates during dead time. The charisma and energy he brings to the floor is contagious and admirable. He champions the second unit in a way any NBA team would want their backup point guard to.

McConnell might never be a starting point guard on a truly competitive team, but he is a survivable backup point guard and offers valuable ball movement for the second unit. After seeing a tenacious 6-1 guard in Fred VanVleet surprisingly contribute so heavily to the Toronto Raptors title in 2019, it’s easy to draw the connection and hope McConnell can serve a similar role in a playoff run this year or next year.