Three veterans the Indiana Pacers should consider signing in free agency
The Pacers are a young team. They could use some veterans who are still good at basketball. They should consider pursuing these three players in free agency.
By Ryan Stano
Free agency is something that the Indiana Pacers don't use very often to significantly improve their roster. They know they aren't a destination for star players so they don't typically pursue them, especially ones that could be a little bit expensive.
The Pacers are going to be close to the salary cap as it is. Pascal Siakam is going to sign a deal close to the max once the offseason rolls around so that hamstrings them a bit financially. Herb Simon won't pay into the luxury tax for his team. He never does.
That would be the case against the Pacers signing any of the guys I'm about to list here. The good news is that all of them could potentially take a bit of a pay cut to play for a contending team. Two of these guys are more in a position to do that than the other.
As a young team, the Pacers need some veterans who can still play some ball. All three of these guys are players who fit that mold and can either start or elevate a bench unit that is already the highest-scoring bench in the leauge.
We'll start with someone who probably won't be coming to Indiana unless he's getting pay the maximum amount he can make,
1. Paul George
Paul George is entering free agency because the Clippers don't have enough money to bring him back. They have already committed a boatload of money to Kawhi Leonard and might do the same for James Harden. George could end up being the odd man out.
We already laid out what it would take financially to sign George. He wouldn't be an easy guy to convince to take a pay cut. If he was excited about doing that, he would be staying in LA with the Clippers. While that can still happen, all of the buzz is that he'll be on the move.
Bringing George back to Indy would instantly lift the ceiling of this team. He's still a really good player. He still averaged 22.7 points per game on 47% shooting from the field and 41% from three. George is still a fantastic perimeter defender too because he averaged 1.5 steals a game.
George would be a great fit on the court next to Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. He would be another ball handler who can create his own shot. He's obviously very familiar with Indiana so it wouldn't be a culture shock for him. Unfortunately, I think the Indy era in Paul George's career is gone forever.
That doesn't mean the Pacers shouldn't make a phone call to see if he would be interested. At least make him say no and then move on to other targets. The next player on this list would be another guy who could start next to Haliburton and Siakam and improve the starting lineup immediately.