In a recent article, SI.com's Alex Golden wrote about how the Indiana Pacers' strategy of replacing Myles Turner, who joined the Milwaukee Bucks last summer, was "a clear misstep in roster evaluation."
And, to be fair, he's completely right.
The Pacers' center situation actually looks very solid now after they acquired Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers, but without this trade, they would still have one of the worst center rooms in the league. And it's because of their decision to run a center-by-committee with a bunch of castaways or unestablished big men to begin this season.
"To “'replace' Turner, the Pacers sent two second-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jay Huff, a center Memphis no longer wanted. To Huff’s credit, he has been a soldier for Indiana this season, appearing in every game. But it was evident as early as the preseason that he was not a long-term solution at the position," Golden wrote.
"Indiana also re-signed James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson — both players coming off Achilles injuries — while Tony Bradley held onto a roster spot with a non-guaranteed contract. If the Pacers’ goal entering the season was to compete before injuries began piling up, building a center rotation around Huff, Wiseman and Jackson represented a clear misstep in roster evaluation."
The Pacers' center-by-committee was mostly a failure
Replacing a center like Turner was never going to be easy, especially if the Pacers were serious about finding a one-for-one replacement for him before next season.
He has his flaws, but Turner was an important part of Indiana's recent success because of his ability to stretch the floor, protect the rim, and run the length of the court. There aren't a ton of starting-caliber centers in the league who have his skillset (which worked perfectly in the Pacers' system), so it was always going to be a challenge to navigate through life without him.
But even with Turner no longer on the roster, the Pacers still had/have championship dreams for the future. And replacing him with Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman, and Tony Bradley was far from ideal.
None of these players is a starting-caliber center on a championship-level team. Combined. They all bring value for one reason or another, but they're all backups at best. And Indiana clearly learned that firsthand as only Huff remains on the roster.
To be fair, in a season like this one, where experimentation is significantly more important than victories, it wasn't a bad decision to try something out and see what stuck. But it also raises the question of what the team's long-term plan really was.
Was the center-by-committee always meant to be a thing just for this season, and they were just trying something out before searching for another starter, or were the Pacers actually hoping it could work for the long haul?
Either way, they pivoted and are now in a better spot to compete for a championship as soon as next season.