2017 NBA Offseason Review: Indiana Pacers
By trading Paul George for an average player, and surrounding him with more average players, the Pacers imprisoned themselves in NBA purgatory.

The Indiana Pacers were an NBA powerhouse just three years ago, but they now find themselves in the dreaded NBA purgatory. Paul George was shipped to Oklahoma City, and the team unfortunately received assets that don’t push them into the playoffs, but also don’t get them close to a high draft pick. The Indiana Pacers current projected starting five has little to no ability in the short term, and very little upside, so let’s try to make sense of what Kevin Pritchard is trying to do in the wake of Larry Bird’s departure.
Key Losses
Paul George
Paul George was one of many excellent draft picks made by Larry Bird as he completely exceeded expectations, and his departure leaves a real void on the Pacers roster. George was a maker of tough shots, but he was not someone who was suited to being the primary ball handler at all times, and this somewhat tarnished his reputation towards the end of his time in Indiana. He will be a better fit in Oklahoma City as he is at his best when he does not have to facilitate an entire offense, but his loss is still a tough one for Indiana to have to deal with.
Indiana became a team that was average at both ends last season, but you have to imagine that George’s departure means they will decrease in efficiency on both ends of the floor. George was a player who was happy to defend the opponents best player, and there is no one on this new-look Indiana roster who is capable of defending elite players. From an offensive stand point, George’s ability to power to the basket and his ability to hit tough shots will be sorely missed, and Indiana will surely likely lack an identity next season.
CJ Miles
Miles might be one of the most underrated contributors in the NBA, and his contributions will be sorely missed in Indiana. He was a plus defender for the most part, and he shot 40% from beyond the arc last season which meant that Indiana’s bench offense was more effective than many expected it to be. The fact the Pacers are paying Bojan Bodganovic more money than Toronto is paying Miles is absolutely mind-boggling, because Miles is more consistent and is better than the Croatian at playing off-the-ball.
When Indiana switched to their more high-powered offense in 2016, Miles was one of few players who thrived, so the decision to let him go is a strange one. He struggled in Frank Vogel’s slow half-court system, but when Nate McMillan opened things up, Miles responded by shooting 40% from downtown.
Jeff Teague
In a way, Jeff Teague epitomized the Indiana Pacers 16–17 season, as he was wildly inconsistent and fluctuated between being really good and totally invisible. On the whole he was useful as he shot well from the field and ranked in the 86th percentile as a pick and roll ball handler. Regardless of what anyone on twitter says, the Pacers have almost certainly downgraded at point guard this summer, and Teague’s versatility and clear connection with Myles Turner will be missed by Indiana.
Key Additions
Cory Joseph
Joseph was acquired by the Pacers in a sign and trade involving Miles, and he will likely be the starting point guard next season. Joseph has a solid all round game, but having him as a starting point guard on a team that lacks ball handlers is seriously concerning. Joseph would be acceptable as a starting point guard along other ball handling stars, but the Pacers have none of these which means he will be running the offense.
Joseph in a way is the prototypical ex-Spurs guard as he is a jack of all trades, master of none type, but his ceiling is low even if he does have a high floor. Nearly half of Joseph’s plays last year came as a pick and roll ball handler, but he only ranked in the 50th percentile which is a clear drop-off from Teague. He is a solid enough player, but he has no upside, and he will likely help the Pacers get to around 30 wins which is a terrible position to be in.
Victor Oladipo
For whatever reason, the Pacers front office thought Oladipo was a more enticing player than Gary Harris of the Denver Nuggets, which means the Pacers got fleeced in the Paul George trade. Oladipo is basically Westbrook-Lite as he is an undersized guard who relies on energy and sheer power to make up for the lack of an outside shot. It would not be surprising to see Oladipo be top ten in usage percentage this year as the Pacers don’t have many other options capable of running an offense.
Oladipo will likely end up as a guy averaging over 20 points per game, but at the expense of his teammates and efficiency. He is not a great playmaker and he becomes a black hole on offense. The fact the Pacers appear committed to him is worrying, as he doesn’t have an awful lot of potential, and he is not someone who makes his teammates better.
Bojan Bodganovic
Bogdanovic is a good player, but only in a limited role, which makes his fit with the Pacers a bad one. Bogdanovic will enter pre-season as the starting small forward, and his only real competition is Glenn Robinson III. People like Bogdanovic because of his offensive versatility, but for the most part he is a negative when he is on the court. The Wizards were a better team when he was on the bench, and he was a streaky shooter who did not step up when they needed him.
To some extent, Bogdanovic will fill the shooting void left by the departures of Jeff Teague and CJ Miles, but most of that work will be undone on the other end as he is one of the worst defenders in the NBA. He struggles against bigger wings, and simply lacks the concentration and mobility to play against quicker guards. If this signing was a one-year deal it would make more sense, but the Pacers committed $20 million to him over two years which suggests they see him as a key piece of their future.
Who are the Pacers?
On the whole, the Pacers offseason can only be seen as a complete and utter disaster, and giving them an ‘F’ grade would actually be giving them too much credit. Trading Paul George was the right move, but they got a below average package for him, and then continued by signing more average players to go alongside the average ones they acquired in the trade with the Thunder. The Pacers should have committed to a full scale rebuild around Myles Turner, but they are instead keeping the same team from last year. The Pacers spent most of last year on life support, and Kevin Pritchard has essentially kept the life support on, and delayed the inevitable.
Myles Turner is a franchise player because of the fact he is a stretch center who can also protect the rim, but the Pacers offseason is so tragic because they are totally failing him. Turner is 21 years old, so surrounding him with veterans in a bid to win now is a policy that will only drive him out of town when he is finally eligible to hit free agency. The majority of the Pacers additions would be nice secondary pieces on a team trying to make a deep post-season run, but the Pacers have been there for the last 20 years, and it was time for them to try something different and commit to trying to get high draft picks.
Victor Oladipo is a good player in the right situation, but this is not the right situation because he will have a license to roam free, which is when he is at his worst. The starting five will essentially be the Victor Oladipo show, and this is not the best way to try and get Myles Turner to the next level. A better strategy would have been to surround Turner with young shooters, and with a pick and roll point guard. They instead surrounded him with streaky and ball dominant players, which means this offense will lack structure, flow, and consistency next year.
The Pacers won’t be awful, but that’s a bad thing at this point. They had their taste of post-season success in the Rick Carlisle and Frank Vogel eras, but this was the Summer where they should have committed to an all-out rebuild. The projected starting five of Cory Joseph, Victor Oladipo, Bojan Bogdanovic, Thaddeus Young and Myles Turner might get 35 wins in the Eastern Conference, but this would be a totally pointless endeavor.
Statistics courtesy of Basketball Reference and NBA.com
