Indiana Pacers: 4 players that should be traded before Victor Oladipo
By Josh Wilson
Pacers to be traded before Victor Oladipo: Doug McDermott
Shooting is the name of the game in the modern NBA. If you can’t hang around from deep and convert on the long ball, often you’ll get overwhelmed and smothered by your opposition.
The Pacers have, for the most part, bucked that trend. Despite not taking many 3-pointers (dead last in 3PA per game), they rely on their defense (top-10 in DRTG) and an accurate shot selection (third in FG%) to stick in games. Victor Oladipo’s presence this year surely would have helped their 3-point rate, too.
Doug McDermott is pointed to as the lone 3-point marksman on the Pacers. Taking 54.0 percent of his shots behind the arc this year, McDermott has sunk a team-leading 44.5 percent of them.
McDermott is great running off a screen and in catch-and-shoot scenarios. He’s not going to be a ball-dominant player in any offensive system, but he can be a piece that pushes you over the edge.
McDermott likens to J.J. Redick, though it remains to be seen if he could manage taking as many 3-pointers in an expanded role. Right now, Redick takes a full 3-pointer more than McDermott per 36 minutes.
McDermott is also a defensive liability with the third-worst defensive box plus/minus on the team.