Do the Indiana Pacers have too many role players?

This may seem like a bit of a good problem, but do the Indiana Pacers actually have too many players who are deserving of meaningful minutes? With five very good starters and a handful of quality guys off the bench, Indiana is in a tough spot heading into next season.

Yes, having a deep roster is always advantageous but when there are more than 10 players who deserve to see the floor, depth becomes too clustered. Instead, looking to package those role players and turn them into better assets is certainly worth exploring.

Do the Indiana Pacers have too many good role players?

Looking beyond the starting five, there are still seven capable guys who can come off the bench – T.J. McConnell, Edmond Sumner, Oshae Brissett, Chris Duarte, Justin Holiday, Goga Bitadze, and Isaiah Jackson. Several of those names are also young players with a lot of room to improve, so seeing the floor will get them further down the road.

No, this is not to say that any of these guys are irreplaceable or even too valuable not to keep. They are all very promising role players who can impact the game in a handful of ways this upcoming season. When you factor in the injury concerns that plague this roster, having depth across the roster is even more important.

The Pacers certainly can do better after last season. Even with as deep of a roster as they had, they fell short of the playoffs under a first-year head coach. Finding the proper way to use each of their guys has been a challenge in the past and the lack of consistent minutes has probably not done anyone any favors.

Heading into this season, Indiana will have to decide who gets the bulk of the bench minutes while also considering the playoff rotation that, in all likelihood, will be dwindled down to eight or nine guys. That said, keeping all 12 of their current valuable/rotational guys may make things more difficult than need be.

If I had to guess, the key guys off the bench will be McConnell, Duarte, Brissett, and Holiday with Goga needing to take on the bulk of the backup center minutes. That right there gives Indiana 10 in their rotation but that group is not strong enough to hang with the best in the Eastern Conference, which has been proven in recent years.

Indiana should consider packaging some of their role players and finding more talent to bolster their second unit, however that may be. Teams who are ready to rebuild should be open to adding younger guys (Brissett, Bitadze) in exchange for a veteran who can contribute right away.

The Cavaliers would be a fun trade partner if they were to offer up Larry Nance Jr. for a pair of younger assets that could give Indiana the quality big man they currently lack. As much as Goga has been exciting, his solid play has been very seldom in his young career. At some point, Indiana needs some consistency from the frontcourt off the bench.

Terrence Ross has terrorized the Pacers for a long time but imagine how helpful he would be off the bench. The Magic continue to stockpile young wings and guards as they search for a new identity. Ross scored 15.6 points per game with Orlando last season but they need to clear room for their young guards.

Oshae Brisset, as much as I love him, would be an interesting candidate to head to Orlando. As would Goga Bitadze to backup Wendell Carter but Orlando is loaded with upside and youth all throughout the roster.

However the Pacers decide to shake up the depth this season, something needs to change. Having depth is great until there is a logjam of talent and players are not getting the playing time they need.