Signing this three-and-D guard would be a good move for the Pacers

The Indiana Pacers clearly need to improve on the defensive side of the ball. It was clear against Boston that's the biggest roster flaw with the team. They need to be able to get stops when the game matters most. Too often, Boston hunted mismatches and took them down.

Indiana knows that they need to get guys who are good on defense but also not liabilities on offense. During the playoffs, Ben Sheppard was good defensively but he couldn't hit wide-open threes. He was just a rookie in his first playoffs, so I don't blame him. That was an issue though.

If they want some help at the two-guard position, there's one player who the Pacers should target. This guy can play some solid defense and is an excellent three-point shooter. This player also has played with Pascal Siakam virtually his entire career. That player is Gary Trent Jr.

The Pacers should look into signing Gary Trent Jr.

Trent Jr. is a free agent this summer. He is someone that can be very valuable for a lot of teams out there. He averaged 13.7 points per game and shot 39% from three a year ago with the Raptors. He is deadly from the corners and would be able to get a ton of open threes in the Pacers' system.

Trent Jr. is also a bigger guard. At 6'5, he's big enough to switch and he can't be hunted. He's stout enough to be able to withstand being backed down in the post. He's also a smart defender and he shoots passing lanes when he can. Trent Jr. has averaged over a steal a game in each of the last four years.

Adding Trent Jr. would give the Pacers the option of either starting him next to Haliburton or having him come off the bench. He could also close in certain situations too. He's not a high-volume shooter, so that's something that would make him fit well next to Haliburton.

Financially, Trent Jr. shouldn't be horribly expensive. He's probably someone they can get in the neighborhood of $17-18 million a year. He had enough of a down year that he might not be able to fully capitalize on his past success.

If the Pacers can find a way to afford him, he'd be a great addition to the team.