With Jeremy Lamb’s role with the Indiana Pacers diminishing more and more each day, his days in Indiana seem numbered. Still, there should be no rush to trade him this summer, especially if the right deal does not present itself.
The selection of Chris Duarte in the 2021 NBA Draft essentially put the final nail in the coffin for Lamb’s minutes next season as Indiana now has several young guards worth playing. Aaron Holiday was already traded during the draft and Lamb could be next. Edmond Sumner, Chris Duarte, and T.J. McConnell should handle the bulk of the bench minutes in the backcourt.
The Indiana Pacers should wait to trade Jeremy Lamb
Although trading Lamb would make plenty of sense this summer to clear up some cap space or to make salaries match in a larger deal, forcing a move is not the answer. I would assume the most likely scenario for a Jeremy Lamb trade this offseason would be as a throw-in to a Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis package to match the money for a larger contract like Ben Simmons or Andrew Wiggins.
That is totally okay if that’s the direction the Pacers decide to go, and I would be a huge fan of an Andrew Wiggins swap with Golden State to add perimeter defense and athleticism. However, with the draft now behind us, I’m not so sure that a deal with the Warriors is likely.
Jeremy Lamb can still provide a bit of value as a bench scorer when things get rough for Duarte early in his career. If he continues to struggle at the next level, it would make sense to have a veteran who can step in and carry some of the scoring with the second unit.
If that were the case, Lamb could increase his value prior to the trade deadline and net a decent return for Indiana. His expiring contract may entice contending teams who need another scoring threat off the bench and could get future draft picks back to Indiana, which may seem like nothing but it’s better than shipping him for nothing right now.
The only reason Indiana should work to clear up the Lamb money is if they plan on making a splash signing in free agency. That has not really been the case from what we have seen so far in free agency and the current roster makes me believe Indiana is not ready to add another big-minutes contract this summer.
Hypothetically, adding a player into the same cap space as Lamb’s $10 million would only encourage the coaching staff to play that newcomer, which takes away minutes from Duarte or Sumner. Instead, the Pacers should just hang on to Lamb until the right deal comes their way.
They have tried to make some moves for veteran scorers in recent summers that have not worked out in their favor. The Monta Ellis and Jeremy Lamb signings were exciting at first but have quickly looked like a sore spot on the books. Maybe the Pacers should just bite the bullet and endure the rest of Jeremy Lamb’s contract before making any rash judgments.