The Pacers are Killing it in Free Agency

As usual, the Indiana Pacers have flown under the radar in the 2018 NBA offseason. While most of the league was awaiting LeBron's "Decision 3.0", Kevin Pritchard assembled one of the deepest teams in the Association.

After the Paul George trade and seeing how Victor Oladipo blossomed into one of the premier players in the league, Pritchard has more than earned my trust. Not to mention Domantas Sabonis, whose passing skills and developing low-post game will be a problem for interior defenses to handle.

While Game 5 of the first round series against the Cavaliers will haunt me, there's no denying that the Pacers were more than capable of knocking off King James or any other Eastern Conference foe. However, I also can't deny that there were a few glaring holes in their lineups.

For one, the Blue and Gold could not get it going from downtown. Aside from Bojan Bogdanovic's memorable Game 3 performance, the perimeter shooting was lacking to put it nicely. Enter Doug McDermott, who shot nearly 50% from 3 in 29 games last year with the Mavericks.

After spending two and a half years with the Bulls, McDermott was shipped to OKC midway through 2016-17. Then, after being dealt to the Knicks as part of the Carmelo trade to start this past season, McDermott was again moved at the trade deadline, this time to Dallas. For the moment, it appears as though the sharpshooter has found a home after signing a 3-year/$22 million contract with the Pacers.

But Pritchard wasn't done yet. From watching the Cavs double-team Victor after his explosion in Game 1, it was easy to see that the Pacers needed a second playmaker, a guy who could create a shot for himself. Myles Turner had his moments against Cleveland, but wasn't consistent enough to be considered a viable sidekick to Oladipo.

So who on the free agent market can create their own shot, set up teammates, and take advantage of most matchups? The answer: Tyreke Evans.

Tyreke is what you might call a Swiss Army Knife. The guy can basically do it all: pass, score, rebound, play consistent defense, and make the right basketball play. Even on a lowly Grizzlies team last season, Evans was able to average 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, joining the exclusive list of LeBron, KD, James Harden, Steph Curry, Boogie Cousins, Russell Westbrook, and Blake Griffin as the only players to put up those numbers in 2018.

Picture this: the starting lineup of Collison, Oladipo, Bogdanovic, Thad Young, and Myles Turner return next year. The bench unit: Cory Joseph (championship experience), Tyreke Evans (dynamic playmaker), Doug McDermott (elite shooter), Sabonis (solid post player), and Kyle O'Quinn (good rebounder with a mid-range jumper). And let's not forget Aaron Holiday, the 23rd pick out of UCLA, who just put up 23 points in his Summer League debut.

Setting my fandom aside, the Pacers could spell trouble for Boston and Philly. Big trouble.

Image credit: Indianapolis Star

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