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NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 offseason targets for the Indiana Pacers

By Jerry Christodoulatos

CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 25: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers helps Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers off of the flor during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Five of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs between the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers on April 25, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - APRIL 25: Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers helps Victor Oladipo #4 of the Indiana Pacers off of the flor during the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Five of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs between the Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers on April 25, 2018 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) /

2. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Caldwell-Pope wouldn’t be a seamless fit on the Pacers, but he’d be a solid complementary piece to the young core of this team regardless. KCP’s first free agency rodeo didn’t go as he might’ve expected last summer. Caldwell-Pope rejected a huge five-year contract worth $80 million from the Pistons, only to be renounced as a result. KCP then languished on the market until the Lakers offered him a life raft in the shape of a one-year deal for $18 million.

This time around KCP will have to temper his expectations if he wants to sign a multi-year deal. Of course, he could risk another short deal in order to hit free agency in 2019 or 2020, when most teams will finally have shed their ugly 2016 albatross deals. In any case, Caldwell-Pope is not going to get anything close to the contract that the Pistons offered him last year. He seems like a candidate for a full MLE type contract.

KCP has become something of an underrated player at this point in his career. Perhaps that’s because he’s played for some pretty crappy teams since he came into the league. Beyond that unfortunate fact though, Caldwell-Pope hasn’t displayed truly marked development since becoming a regular starter in his second year. Even so, he will be one of the best two-way players available on the market this summer.

Three seasons ago, Caldwell-Pope deservedly received attention as one of the few defenders in the NBA that could really bother Steph Curry. He’s one of the peskiest guard defenders in the league and he terrorizes both ones and twos on a consistent basis. On this team his primary defensive duty would be to check opposing point guards. That kind of player would be a nice addition to Indiana’s rotation, which relies on defensive liability Darren Collison to play about 30 minutes per game. In terms of wing defense, KCP is a bit too small to substantially hinder the best forwards in the league. He can definitely hold up in a switching scheme though, which is important against the league’s toughest competition.

Caldwell-Pope’s offensive game would mesh well on this Indiana team.  His game is similar to GRIII’s, but is definitely more nuanced. KCP’s off the dribble game is fairly vanilla and hasn’t progressed much over the past few years; if he were a more advanced passer perhaps his off the bounce game could be more effective. At this point KCP is most effective off the ball, bombing catch and shoot looks from deep. Caldwell-Pope took over 50 percent of his shots from 3-point territory last year for the first time in his career (he converted 38 percent of those shots). Adding him into the mix would really benefit Indiana’s often scrunched spacing.

Fitting KCP into the Pacers rotation would be a bit tricky if Collison stays on the roster. Caldwell-Pope is most well-suited to play the two, but franchise cornerstone Victor Oladipo starts at that position. Perhaps his ideal role on this team would be as a heavy-minutes reserve. He could come in for about 30 minutes per game and play in a variety of lineup types. That kind of versatility is a necessity come playoff time. If the Pacers can get KCP at a value between $9-$12 million over two or three years, that would be a worthwhile investment.

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