The Indiana Pacers have waived Kelan Martin and the impact on the roster

After two seasons with the Indiana Pacers, the team has waived 26-year-old guard Kelan Martin. In his two seasons with the Pacers, Martin averaged 5.1 points per game and 2.7 rebounds.

He scored his season high15 points against the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 26, 2021. However, his Pacers-high in points came last season when he scored 25 points to lead the team to victory against Cleveland.

The Indiana Pacers now have an open roster spot and some extra money to give to another player this season, which could possibly be Lance Stephenson.

Kelan Martin was a solid player to have on an injury-riddled Pacers team over the past few seasons.

He is a scorer but does have consistency issues which knocked him out of the Indiana Pacers rotation prior to him testing positive for COVID-19.

An unfortunate break for Kelan, who was waived while away from the team – he is still in health and safety protocols.

Keifer Sykes, Oshae Brissett, and Kelan Martin were all on non-guaranteed contracts. Their guarantee date was Jan. 10, 2022, so the timing of this makes sense to waive one of them if you have other plans.

Sykes has been playing quite well and at the right time. The Pacers need a backup point guard with T.J. McConnell missing months of time and Sykes has played very well in his last three games.

He is averaging, Sykes is averaging 16.7 points and 5.3 assists in the last three games he started – doesn’t make sense to waive him when he is playing like a capable point guard.

Oshae Brissett has had some struggles this season but is shooting 37.1% from behind the arc this season which is the highest percentage of any Pacers’ player this season.

He averages 6.1 points per game but shares a similar role to Torrey Craig who he battles for minutes. He is a great player to have and it makes sense for the Pacers to keep him – he is just 23 years old.

One possible scenario could be to bring in Lance Stephenson for the remainder of the season. It is a down year for the team, plain and simple.

If Lance plays great it works out well and the fans will be thrilled to watch. If he struggles, the team is already 14-25 and getting much tougher to climb back into playoff contention.

Stephenson brings an entertainment level not seen much by this year’s team given his history, so I believe it makes sense. Ultimately it is up to the Pacers, but it seems that is the direction they are headed.

Changes will likely be coming soon with the trade deadline approaching, which is 10 days before the All-Star break on Feb. 10, 2022.