Pacers Free Agency: Pacers sign Justin Holiday, Among Others.

The last time I blogged, I wrote about the stupidity of bringing in Ricky Rubio. Mere hours after I let out my frustration and predicting that both Kevin Pritchard and Nate McMillan would be let go after next season, Pritchard pulled, as Jason Witten would say, "a rabbit out of his head" and brought in Malcolm Brogdon and Jeremy Lamb. I am man enough to admit that I was wrong when it came to the initial free agency period. Since then, the #Pacers have signed four more players, two of which we signed today. So let’s start in the order we signed them.

Pacers Guard/Forward Edmond Sumner re-signed with the Pacers on a three year deal. Photo Courtesy of NBA.com.

ALL ABOARD THE SUMNER HYPE TRAIN. The Pacers’ retained one of their own by re-signing guard Edmond Sumner to a three year deal worth $6.5 million. Totally worth it. There is so much potential with Sumner that this contract could end up being a bargain by the end of it. He played well in limited minutes last season and is going to help with depth at the shooting guard position immediately, until Victor Oladipo is back from injury. He adds versatility as he can play anywhere from point guard to small forward. Sumner averaged 2.9 points and 9.1 minutes per game in twenty-three appearances last season.

Forward Brian Bowen II signed with the Indiana Pacers on a two-way contract. Photo Courtesy of The New York Times.

Next, the Pacers added forward Brian Bowen II to the roster. Due to FBI investigations into recruiting (that Bowen was cleared from) and weird transfer rules from the NCAA, Bowen never did play college basketball, but instead went overseas to play the 2018-19 season with the Sydney Kings. In the thirty games that he played with the Kings, Bowen averaged 6.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game according to ESPN. After he finished the season, Bowen became eligible for the NBA draft, but went undrafted. Bowen signed a two-way contract with the Pacers. This allows Bowen to be with the Pacers before the G-League season begins and after it concludes, while also allowing him to be with the Pacers for forty-five games during the G-League season. When he is not with the Pacers, Bowen will be with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. I honestly do not have much of an opinion on this signing. I hope the guy gets good experience and is productive for the Pacers when called upon.

Center Amida Brimah signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Indiana Pacers. Photo Courtesy of Draft Express.

That brings us to today’s signings. The Pacers signed 7’0" center Amida Brimah. First things first, big fan of the name. Secondly, Pritchard really loves his big men. The Ghana Native is an Alumnus of UConn and has spent the last two seasons in the G-League. He has averaged 7.7 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game in his career in the G-League. According to the IndyStar this deal is non-guaranteed and that he would only get the one year deal if he makes the roster. So in essence, he is a body for training camp. With Myles Turner and Go Go Gadget set to be the centers this season, Brimah has little chance to make the roster, but I hope he has a productive camp and preseason so he can catch back on in the G-League or with a team that is in need of depth at center.

Guard Justin Holiday signed a one year 4.8 million dollar deal with the Indiana Pacers. Photo Courtesy of NBA.com.

The bigger signing for the Pacers from today was Aaron Holiday’s oldest brother, Justin Holiday. While I do not hate the move, and it makes sense in the overall scheme of needing another small forward/shooting guard, this leaves the Pacers bench with much to be desired. Holiday is a good defender that averaged 10.5 points per game last season. Unfortunately, those points came on 38.6% shooting from the field and 34.8% from behind the arc. I expect that J.Holiday and Sumner will probably split minutes behind Lamb to start the season.

Overall, I would not say these last four signings have been bad, but I am not running around for joy either like I was with the Brogdon and Lamb signings. Until Oladipo returns, the Pacers’ bench is going to be underwhelming on offense and will strongly rely on defense to stay in the game. Hopefully both Sumner and Holiday can improve on their offense to make the Pacers’ second unit a little more of a threat than I expect it to be. Do not plan on seeing Brimah past the preseason and expect to see very little of Bowen, barring injuries of course. Outside of the Sumner signing, the best thing is the Pacers now have two of the three Holiday brothers! Also on another note, get rid of McBuckets contract and sign Korver. Thank you, that is all.