Indiana Pacers: 4 free agent role players worth overpaying for

The Indiana Pacers will benefit from Bobby Portis’ two-way frontcourt play

Aside from Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, the Indiana Pacers do not have a veteran frontcourt presence who’s reliable enough to warrant significant minutes. This was a major problem last season, with the Blue and Gold struggling mightily when one of the two went down with the proverbial injury bug.

Despite having Goga Bitadze, Rick Carlisle will much prefer to have a battle tested piece to man the bench frontcourt role. Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis is exactly that, with some of the spotlight already on him with his electric play off the bench in the NBA Finals as a physical two-way big man who can jockey for position in the post, aggressively hunt for boards, defend effectively with his size and mobility and space the floor with his three-point shot.

Portis should easily eclipse his meager contract this season, especially with him projected to decline his player option. While Indiana can’t offer more than the full MLE, if the front office manages to shed ample salary off the books, then the team should pursue him hard given his perfect fit with the Pacers’ roster and timeline.