NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 offseason targets for the Indiana Pacers
5. Glenn Robinson III
After bouncing around the league on lottery teams during his rookie year, Glenn Robinson III found a home with the Pacers during the 2015-16 season. At age 24, GRIII is a guy that can toggle between the two and three spots, absorbing minutes on the wing. Although he’s coming off of his fourth season in the NBA, Robinson is still an unknown in many ways. He’s only played in 172 games total and has played an average of 15 minutes per game in his appearances. The former University of Michigan standout has demonstrated some potential as a legit two-way player in his brief NBA career. Even if Robinson never fully reaches that potential, betting on him and re-singing him at a modest price is a worthwhile endeavor for Indiana.
While GRIII made some developmental strides in 2016-17, he didn’t have much of a chance to expand his game this past year. 2018 was basically a lost season for Robinson. Ligament damage in his left ankle kept him off the court for all but 23 games. The Pacers took a conservative approach to Robinson’s playing time upon his return as well; he only started one game and barely saw the floor in the playoffs.
In 2017 however, GRIII played an important role for this team. He usually came in off the bench, but he also started 27 games at the two for Indiana. Much of Robinson’s theoretical value comes as a defender, despite the fact that he’s not particularly adept on that end just yet. At the very least though, Robinson has the physical stature that teams want from their wing defenders. He stands 6-foot-6 with a nice 6-foot-10 wingspan and weighs about 220 pounds. Those are the physical foundations of a potentially fearsome defender that can handle multiple positions. If Robinson becomes more attentive, gambling a bit less and avoiding over-helping he can be a tough defender.
On offense, GRIII has a few obvious offensive flaws. But his game is pretty simple and can fit in well in a variety of lineup configurations. Robinson is a dependent offensive player. The majority of his looks come as catch and shoot attempts or off of nifty basket cuts. He doesn’t possess any real craft attacking off the dribble, which can create problems for the Indiana offense when he gets run off the line. If he can be a consistent threat off the ball though, Robinson will have some value to the offense.
The signs that he’ll be effective off the ball have been generally positive so far. Robinson has knocked down 39.3 percent of his shots from 3-point range (including 46 percent from the corners) since signing with Indiana in 2015-2016. GRIII resorts to long two-pointers too often though, and he’s not too good at taking those tough mid-range looks. He’s shot 37 percent within the 16-23 foot range in his career. That’s not particularly reassuring. If Robinson can convert some the long twos he takes into 3-pointers (he’s only averaged 1.4 shots from deep as a Pacer), he can become as a legit floor spacer for Indiana.
Glenn Robinson is still an unfinished product at this point. He fits well on an Indiana team that missed him for much of last season though. Given the fact that he should be available for a few million annually, the Pacers should plan to retain GRIII.