Fansided

Indiana Pacers snag Kyle O’Quinn for $4.5 million

ByJonathan Macri|
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 31: Kyle O'Quinn #9 of the New York Knicks reacts in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons during their game at Madison Square Garden on March 31, 2018 in New York City. 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. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 31: Kyle O'Quinn #9 of the New York Knicks reacts in the third quarter against the Detroit Pistons during their game at Madison Square Garden on March 31, 2018 in New York City. 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. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)

Kyle O’Quinn opted out of a player option with the Knicks only to get the same amount with Indiana. Here’s what the signing means for the Pacers.

The NBA’s nuclear winter continues to take no prisoners.

Kyle O’Quinn, who for the last three seasons has been a backup center with the New York Knicks, today signed a one-year, $4.5 million deal with the Indiana Pacers, who continue to have a quietly good offseason.

The signing raises eyebrows for a few reasons. While nothing about O’Quinn’s stats jump off the page — last year’s 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game were both career highs — anyone who’s watched him over his time in New York knows he brings a lot to the table.

Aside from being butter from 15-18 feet out (if Knicks fans have seen his left elbow jumper once, they’ve seen it a hundred times), he’s easily one of the best passing big men in the game. Last season, there were three centers in the NBA with assist and rebound rates over 15 and a true shooting percentage above 60: Nikola Jokic, Julius Randle, and O’Quinn.

Given his skill set, it’s somewhat surprising that no team out there was willing to give O’Quinn multiple years (or, if we assume it was Kyle’s decision to jump into the free agent pool once again next summer, a higher annual salary). Aside from that, it’s interesting that the Pacers were the team that decided to make the plunge.

Indiana has already had issues playing Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis together (lineups featuring the pair had a minus-6.2 net rating in just 268 minutes together last season). They also have second year big man T.J. Leaf waiting in the wings. While it’s tempting to suggest that the O’Quinn signing is a precursor to another move involving one of their core bigs, it’s just as likely that the Pacers were the best team willing to make an offer to a player who has never tasted playoff basketball.

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All in all, while O’Quinn’s time in New York didn’t include much winning, he will forever be remembered there for being an All-World bench pantomime and Bar Mitzvah maven. His mind meld with new Pacer Doug McDermott was also the stuff of legend.

For one year at less than the taxpayer mid-level exception, the Pacers could have done a lot worse.

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