Indiana Pacers: 4 former players that would have helped this season

Bojan Bogdanovic is a strong starting-caliber player

Of course, the free agency departure that stung the most last year certainly a player Indiana would have loved to have back this year.

Bojan Bogdanovic was a key fixture last year, and would have been this year if the Pacers were able to retain him. His play elevated last season to set his price point at a level that was a bit too high for Indiana to re-sign him, but his performance likely would have been worth it, at least for this season.

Averaging 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game with the Utah Jazz this year, Bogdanovic brings a high level of offense to the table and is a perimeter threat, shooting above 40 percent in each of the last three seasons from beyond the arc.

While Bogdanovic’s defense can be suspect due to his slower speed, he’s rugged and willing to put the effort in on that end of the floor. The Pacers have filled some of his 3-point shots by asking Doug McDermott to take 1.6 more 3-pointers per game this year, but having both would allow the Pacers to utilize a more multi-level scorer.

Last season, Bogdanovic shot above 40 percent from 10 feet out to the 3-point line, zones that McDermott has struggled with this year. He’s shooting 25 percent from 10-16 feet from the rim and 28.6 percent from 16 feet until the 3-point line.

While Bogdanovic has taken a step back in terms of accuracy in those zones with the Jazz, that can be attributed to them asking to focus his offensive shot profile at the rim and beyond the arc, cutting the mid-range down to make up eight percent of his shot profile. Many of the shots he takes in those zones are likely at the end of the shot clock.