The fate of Indiana Pacers’ Chris Duarte is unclear….at best

Duarte was drafted to be more than a 3&D player.

Contrary to what the NBA might say, no team drafts a guy to JUST be a 3&D player. If they settle into that role GREAT! It means they have a stable floor and every team needs those guys to be successful… scratch that, every team needs those guys to be consistent. But, if a guy can play that great defense on multiple positions AND create for himself? That leads to more plays being called for them, which turns into more minutes and better production.

I think Duarte has the potential to do way more stuff offensively than stand in the corner and wait for the ball to come to him. He knows when to attack closeouts and draw contact and has shown the ability to not necessarily play make but make decisions on how the offense flows. He is young but he’s also smart that’s one of the reasons he was drafted and why so many already contending teams were looking at him. We want a guy who is dangerous not just as a shooter but as an offensive player and I think Chris Duarte can be AT LEAST a really good role player if given the opportunity to grow.