Brian Bowen could be developmental diamond in the rough for Pacers

Brian Bowen II, now on a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers and the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, has not had the best start to his professional basketball career. Arguably, he has been incredibly disadvantaged by a cruel collegiate system that many young athletes get pinned by.

Bowen committed to Louisville and was put under investigation when the FBI started looking into head coach Rick Pitino and the program regarding unauthorized gifts/payments sent to players. Bowen was investigated because of his father accepting a cash sum as a “bribe” to get Brian Bowen II to attend Louisville.

After this, Bowen transferred schools, but couldn’t play collegiately because he hadn’t yet been cleared by the FBI.

Eventually, he would be cleared, but it was too little too late. Bowen declared for the draft but later pulled out, opting to play overseas for a year.

His current position with the Pacers is a second chance in many ways and now, his position relative to the team might just be perfect timing for both parties.

Bowen hasn’t gotten much playing time with the big squad this year. Two-way contracts can be tough for the players on them. They are advantageous for some who find themselves in positions where the team has a need to fill, but Bowen’s name hasn’t been called frequently.

Only able to spend 40 days with the Pacers, Bowen has appeared in five NBA games and his stats are forgettable due to them falling in garbage time minutes.

His G League performances have been acceptable, but he doesn’t dominate the minor league in a way that NBA teams would like to see before committing to a standard contract. If a player can’t stand out at the lower level, it’s hard to see them fitting in nicely amongst more skilled opponents.

This season he averaged 16.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game with the Mad Ants in just short of 34 minutes per game.

While solid, Bowen hasn’t exactly blown the world away with his stats, which is why he may not get an NBA contract this summer as he may hope.

Bowen doesn’t have the requisite tape or stats to really open up the conversations with other teams around the league. This is why Indiana should attempt to re-sign him to yet another two-way contract next season.

It’s probably as much of a guarantee as Bowen will get for next season, and continuing to grow familiar with him and his tendencies will only help the Pacers and the Mad Ants staff learn how to cultivate his skill set.

Especially with this season potentially being cut short, there may have been plans to get Bowen more time with the Pacers after the G League season ended. The Pacers may not get that chance if the season is canceled. Establishing another year of two-way status with him gives them the start of next year to get more familiar before potentially committing to a longer partially guaranteed contract with him.

While the Pacers should evaluate options beyond Bowen to fill their two two-way contracts next season, Bowen is a familiar option that may be worth feeding into given the circumstances of a cut-short G League and NBA season. With no first-round draft pick this year, any internal development that the Pacers can continue to groom is advantageous.

The draft is going to be a blindfolded game of darts this year with no clear score marks due to the coronavirus situation. Players you know already intrinsically have a lot more value and guarantees than many second-round prospects. And since the Pacers have no first-round picks, Bowen may be more valuable in one of the team’s two-way slots than other second-round or undrafted players.

Bowen feels like a potential cultural fit with the Pacers, having spent the best of his high school years playing in Indiana. A former five-star recruit, there has to be something left in the tank here.