3 Indiana Pacers who definitely won't be back next season
By Ryan Stano
2. Doug McDermott
When the Pacers traded Buddy Hield to Philadelphia, it was more about helping him than getting someone good back. It was thought that they were potentially clearing a spot in the rotation for Walker to get minutes. Instead, they brought in Doug McDermott.
McDermott did next to nothing in his second stint with Indiana. He played the fewest minutes of his career since his rookie season and just played 18 games in the regular season. The only real minutes he played in the playoffs were in the final two games of the Eastern Conference Finals when Tyrese Haliburton was out.
Dougie McBuckets had just 4.2 points per game in the regular season and just 1.3 points in the postseason. What's worse is that he was brought in as a three-point shooter and he couldn't make threes. Once he was brought in, he shot just 32% from deep.
McDermott is a free agent this Summer and is 32 years old. He has been a defensive liability his entire career and struggled to shoot from three. I don't see any scenario in which the Pacers bring him back next season. He was a fringe rotation guy anyway.
Instead, the Pacers will likely use that spot to sign a minimum guy to keep their cap number as low as possible. Perhaps they convert Oscar Tshiebwe into a full-time salary next year instead. Lord knows this team needs as many guys who can rebound as they can get.
Our last player on this list isn't a guy who makes an impact on the court but is more of a locker-room presence.