Indiana Pacers: Pass or pursue on the team’s upcoming free agents

For the second straight season, the Indiana Pacers will be watching the NBA Playoffs from home after finishing with the fifth-worst record in the league. Thus, the franchise will have its eyes glued to the offseason, where a bevy of crucial decisions await the franchise in the NBA Draft and in free agency.

While this year’s crop of free agents is far from a star-studded one, the cap-rich Pacers still have some pondering to do on players they would want to pursue or steer clear from as they attempt to make a swift pivot back to competitiveness in the next campaign. To start things off, what should Indiana do with its own free agents? We begin by taking a hard look at one “Pacer” who never played a minute for the team this season.

Should the Indiana Pacers bother knocking on Ricky Rubio’s door?

Ricky Rubio, who was stashed to the Pacers in the Caris LeVert trade, played productive basketball for Cleveland prior to a devastating ACL injury that sidelined him for the season. As a result, he never logged a minute for Indiana and was never even seen with the Blue and Gold at all as he rehabbed away from the team.

While Rubio is one of the better backup floor generals in the league, there’s simply no desire at this juncture for both parties to come on terms with a new deal. The 31-year-old does not fit a need for Indiana, and will be much better off playing for a team needing a veteran rotation cog. Even previous reports point to him being interested in reuniting with the Cavaliers.

Thus, this should be a very easy call.

Verdict: Pass