A versatile forward could come on the market for the Pacers this offseason
By Ryan Stano
The Indiana Pacers aren't concerned about the offseason right now. They have a second-round matchup with the Knicks to prepare for and win. Still, the basketball ops team is looking to improve this roster for not just next season, but the next two or three.
Indiana is missing one really good piece to be looked at as a true NBA title contender. The bench is great, but the starters lack just one more big-time scorer. Pascal Siakam and Tyrese Haliburton are the guys who stir the drink for the offense, but they need one more guy.
A forward is about to come on the free-agent market who could really help the Pacers in that regard. He struggled a bit in the playoffs this season, but he's made an All-Star team before and would be a help to Indiana on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. That forward is Brandon Ingram.
Brandon Ingram would really help the Indiana Pacers become a true contender
The Pacers' defense is still bad. Despite some improvement since the All-Star break, they still are a below-average defense. We saw that rear its ugly head in Game 5 against the Bucks. They need more length on the wing to help Haliburton, who is a bad defender.
Ingram would help on that end of the floor. He's 6'8 with a 7'3 wingspan and can switch 1-5. If he played with the Pacers, he also wouldn't have the pressure to be the number one or even the number two guy offensively. He could be the best number three option in the league.
Ingram averaged almost 21 points per game on 49% shooting and 35.5% from three. He would also help the Pacers with rebounding because he averaged five boards a game to go along with 5.7 assists. He does everything pretty darn well.
The biggest issue with getting Ingram to Indiana is finances. As we laid out in our Paul George article, the finances are going to be very tight this offseason. Ingram is 26 and is probably going to look to cash in. He's going to want a max deal with someone and has the stats to get it.
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If they could get him to take a pay cut, somewhere in the $20-$25 million a year range, they could land him. He'd be an excellent guy to make the Pacers a contender to win it all.