NBA Free Agency 2018: 5 most puzzling contract decisions

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5. Doug McDermott, Indiana Pacers — three years, $22 million

McDermott will make the Pacers better, but he won’t do anything other players couldn’t have given Indiana on a cheaper salary.

Just like in Milwaukee’s case, the Pacers came into the summer with money to spend and rather than taking a chance on a younger player on a longer deal or a one-year overpay, Indiana settled somewhere in the middle and gave up too much.

McDermott has bounced around the league since being drafted in 2014 and clearly valued long-term security upon hitting free agency. He emerged from three different unappealing situations in Chicago, New York and Dallas (with a pit stop in Oklahoma City) a career 40-percent 3-point shooter, translating prolific shooting in college to the pros quite smoothly. His size also makes him an interesting matchup problem as the league shifts smaller.

There were probably other suitors, but with so many teams focused on 2019 cap space, it’s tough to find another team which would have forked over $7-plus million per year over three seasons for McDermott. He’ll make less than the mid-level exception next year, meaning no team offered him that salary annually.

If he continues to get better, he probably earns this contract. He’s only 26 — the only big wings who made more than him on multi-year deals this summer (Jerami Grant and Kyle Anderson) are each 24 years old.

With Bojan Bogdanovic, a very similar player, in tow, it feels like Indiana could have gotten a player with more upside at a different position and addressed Bogdanovic’s replacement (or a new deal for him) in 2019, when the Pacers will roll over up to $63 million in space.

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