Indiana Pacers: 5 free agents to help reach the next level
By Ben Bundy
1. D’Angelo Russell
D’Angelo Russell fits the Pacers for all the same reasons as Walker. He brings scoring, flexibility, and swagger to the team. As stated before though, Russell takes the top spot because he is younger and still getting better.
Right now statistics would point to Walker being the better player, but Russell is only 22 years old. We still have yet to see just how good of a player he can be. Adding him to a team already full of youth and talent would give the Pacers, and the NBA, a new team in the title hunt each year.
One setback to this Indiana/Russell match is that Russell is a restricted free agent, and the Brooklyn Nets could technically bring him back if they wanted. It would require the team to match any offer sheet given to Russell by another team.
However, there have been many “Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn” rumors circulating recently, which might mean Russell would be set free to sign wherever he likes. Even if the Nets plan on pairing Irving and Russell, Indiana could offer a max deal, which means the Nets would have to pay out two different max deals to get both Irving and Russell.
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Regardless of what happens with Russell or any of these other free agents, it is clear that Indiana has plenty of potential cap space and they plan on using it this offseason. Bringing in any of these guys would take them from a team with a ton of upside, to a team that moves up in the playoff race. Don’t be surprised if we see the Pacers playing three or four rounds in next year’s playoffs.