Cassius Stanley did not make an impact for the Indiana Pacers
Injuries should have opened a path for rookie Cassius Stanley to see the floor but that simply was not the case this season. He only appeared in 24 games at a whopping 3.9 minutes per contest while also not shooting the ball well whatsoever.
In his limited action, Stanley connected on an abysmal 30.2 percent of his attempts from the field and 23.1 percent of his three-point shots. The Pacers were able to find help from a lot of guys at the end of the bench, including Stanley’s G-League teammate Oshae Brissett, but Stanley himself was nowhere to be found.
His athleticism should have been enough to at least consider giving him some run given the team’s defensive struggles but it was clear that the youngster was not quite ready for the NBA. He looked lost out there whenever he was given minutes.
Obviously, Stanley was not expected to be a star. He was a second-round pick on a team that is notorious for not playing young guys early on. Still, with so much going in his favor from a roster standpoint, it would have been nice to see more from the rookie.
Next season will be very telling for his future in the NBA. If he cannot see the floor at all again in his second year, he might be out of the league before he was ever really in it.