As if the Indiana Pacers’ ugly start to the season cannot be any worse, the injury to starting point guard and leading scorer and facilitator Malcolm Brogdon has exploited the team’s dearth of floor generals who can hold down the fort with the significant minutes suddenly left available.
Their losses to Brooklyn and Toronto, sans Brogdon, all but highlighted their vulnerability at the position, with both games culminating in the Pacers registering their lowest-scoring outputs in the early going to begin their campaign.
With Malcolm Brogdon sidelined, the Indiana Pacers have a glaring weakness at the point guard position
TJ McConnell, the Pacers’ sixth man and backup point guard, has been wayward from the jolt of energy that he has been last season. His lack of a reliable three-point shot and off-ball value has drastically limited Indiana’s scoring ceiling with him in the starting unit.
Brad Wanamaker, the third-string playmaker, has failed to impact the game on virtually all departments, falling short as a scorer with his missing three-point stroke while getting blown by on defense on multiple occasions by younger opposing guards.
As the Pacers seek to turn their season around quickly, their need for a reliable point guard who can provide a much-needed boost on scoring and playmaking is increasingly staring them right in the eye. Fortunately, the free agent market still houses some players who can give Indiana a hand. Here are three free agent point guards whom the Pacers should consider making a move for.
Veteran Brandon Knight can be a sparkplug off the Indiana Pacers bench
After a promising start to his career, veteran guard Brandon Knight has been left without a home last season. Since enjoying his breakout campaign more than five years ago, the 29-year-old has bounced around the league, largely due to injuries and poor fit with rebuilding teams. His most recent appearance was a very brief stint with the Pistons where he played a grand total of nine games.
Currently, Knight is playing in the NBA G-League for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, the Heat’s affiliate developmental team, after being selected sixth overall in their proprietary draft. Still, he is an NBA talent who could certainly help out a lot of teams, especially on the scoring department.
The Indiana Pacers should take a flier on Knight, if only to avert their utmost lack of a scoring threat at the position aside from Brogdon. McConnell and Wanamaker are far from tenable scoring options. An above-average career three-point shooter, even with rust, he will be a much better floor spacing option at PG than what the Pacers currently have on the bench.
The Indiana Pacers could benefit from Dante Exum’s defensive focus
Dante Exum has not quite lived up to the billing of a fifth overall pick. Since being taken by the Utah Jazz early in the 2015 NBA Draft, the Australian combo guard has not developed much, to the point of currently being out of the league.
Released by the Houston Rockets shortly before the regular season started, Exum is currently a free agent, seemingly resisting going back to Australia. The Indiana Pacers, due to their defensive limitations, could consider snatching him up, as Exum still has a valuable skillset that could prove beneficial even in a limited role, a perfect position for him at this stage of his career.
Theoretically, Exum won’t play much, as he is not necessarily a catalyst on offense, boasting below-average marks on both scoring, three-point shooting and playmaking. However, his heady defensive acumen is still valuable, and if he hones his shot even a bit more, he would easily be a better option than Wanamaker as an emergency depth piece who can also play on the wing position.
Former Indiana Pacers point guard Jeff Teague could be a great veteran addition
Did you know that who led the Indiana Pacers in win shares in the 2016-17 season? Paul George? Sound the buzzer.
Quite surprisingly, Jeff Teague led the Pacers in that obscure department during PG-13’s last year donning the Blue and Gold. While the 12-year veteran is far from his glory days, where he even managed to book an All-Star nod in 2015, his track record alone is enough reason to consider him as a depth piece at point guard.
Teague’s speed, his primary advantage over his career, has significantly waned. However, his savvy passing and basketball IQ remains the same. His cameo appearances off the bench last season as a part of the Milwaukee Bucks’ championship run, while hardly felt, were still able to settle the offense down in short spurts.
In a very limited duty, Teague can thrive. Rick Carlisle has a penchant for having veteran point guards at his disposal to calm the offense down and execute ATOs with precision in emergency situations. Given Wanamaker’s struggles at that very role, Teague should be an option worth exploring, especially with his great locker room presence and familiarity with the Indiana Pacers franchise.