Among the success stories of the first two games of the Indiana Pacers' Summer League run, one player has seemingly been lost in the shuffle and forgotten, despite being a recent draft pick.
In the more talked-about stories of Jarace Walker's offensive development, Johnny Furphy's promise, and Enrique Freeman's unexpected success, people have seemingly forgotten Indiana's other draft pick this year, Tristen Newton.
Despite being a draft pick with promise after helping lead Connecticut to back-to-back national championships, Newton has been relatively forgotten about in the first two Summer League games, playing a bench role behind Quenton Jackson, who has not shown much of anything in the two games so far, especially not anything to warrant starting over Newton.
The biggest problem with Indiana's Summer League team this year, especially compared to last year, is the lack of ball handling and offensive initiators. In last year's Summer League, Andrew Nembhard took on prime ball-handling duties and Indiana looked like a well-oiled machine with him leading the charge for those few games.
This year, however, the Pacers do not seem to have a real point guard in their rotation. Instead, Jarace Walker has spent more than his fair share of possessions bringing the ball up the court and trying to create for the team, which has not resulted in much success.
Additionally, this is just not something Walker will have to do when he plays for the Pacers this season. On a roster with Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, and even a more prominent ball handler in Pascal Siakam, Walker will be more of a connective playmaker and catch-and-shoot guy rather than the point forward he is playing so far.
Currently, I see no reason why Jackson should have the starting point guard role over Newton. In the two games so far, Jackson has not shown much to warrant a full-time roster spot and just seems to be there to take up minutes. If I am in charge of the Pacers' lineups, I insert Newton as a starter for the rest of Summer League to see what he can do in extended minutes with the ball in his hand.
Sure he didn't exactly take care of the ball against Minnesota, finishing with seven turnovers, but he also had seven assists and displayed a solid connection with fellow second-rounder Johnny Furphy, with the two connecting for a nice alley-oop finish out of a timeout.
Johnny Furphy going 🆙
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) July 14, 2024
Tristen Newton lobs it up to Furphy. pic.twitter.com/p7uTVTPrrm
Even in Game 1, which saw Jackson playing 36 minutes and Newton only six minutes, Newton still dished out four assists with two turnovers, compared to Jackson's five assists with a staggering nine turnovers. Yes, nine turnovers in one game.
I know you shouldn't take turnovers seriously in Summer League, especially with a team like the Pacers that lacks point-of-attack creation and has to resort to unconventional playmaking methods, but still, nine turnovers with only five assists is very alarming.
Nobody is expecting Newton to be a Tyrese Haliburton-level playmaker once he gets big minutes. He will probably struggle at times and get some turnovers, but I for sure trust him with the ball in his hands more than Quenton Jackson, who is not a good initiator, and Jarace Walker, who is not a point guard.
The Pacers could very well have something on their hands with Newton, but they just need to let him roam free and start to see if he can be the next Andrew Nembhard, or just another guy.