Indiana Pacers Agree To 3-Year Deal With Al Jefferson

The Indiana Pacers had one more big addition to their team, agreeing to terms with Al Jefferson on a three-year, $30 million deal.

After being almost completely silent through the first 12 hours of free agency, the Indiana Pacers made a big splash, agreeing to terms on a three-year, $30 million deal for Al Jefferson, as first reported by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The deal cannot be made official until the July 7, when the NBA’s moratorium ends.

The six-foot-ten, 289-pound center averaged 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season despite being limited with injuries, including undergoing surgery on a tear in the left meniscus of his right knee.

At age 31 with plenty of mileage on his body after playing 12 NBA seasons, Jefferson is certainly a risk, but one worth taking for the Pacers.

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Jefferson largely came off the bench after returning from injuries and averaged 10.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in his 29 games as a reserve.

Jefferson is probably a better player on paper than he is on a basketball court. Since his standout 2013-14 season in the last year we saw the Charlotte Bobcats, Jefferson led the way, going for 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. For his career, Jefferson has finished the season averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds on three separate occasions.

Unfortunately for the Pacers, those days are a thing of the past.

However, Jefferson’s game seems primed to age well. He’s a ground-bound center who relies on an old-school post game.

Last season, nobody else came close to the frequency of Jefferson’s post-ups. Per NBA.com/stats, Jefferson posted up on 51.8 percent of his possessions. The next closest player in terms of frequency was Kevin Seraphin of the New York Knicks, who posted up on 43.4 percent of his possessions.

On these possessions, Jefferson scored 45.4 percent of the time.

Jefferson’s ability to create offense in the post comes from his massive size and strength, a variety of post moves and soft touch.

Jefferson’s post game creates offense for others as well. Teams know that his offensive game is deadly around the basket and that he’s one of the most-feared players in the league when he gets a one-on-one post game going. When teams double-team him on the block, it creates space for shooters around him or cutting lanes for teammates.

Jefferson would seem to come off the bench, with newly-acquired Thaddeus Young at power forward and promising 20-year-old Myles Turner penciled-in as the starting center for years to come.

Due to age, injuries and a history of being a defensive liability, Jefferson is much better-suited for a bench role at this point in his career.

Starters in the NBA often stand out for their weaknesses, while bench players are judged by their strengths. It’s something that has historically allowed players with major flaws to have great careers.

Think of a guy like Enes Kanter, a former teammate of Jefferson’s. Kanter is one of the best offensive centers in the league but has a reputation for being a terrible defender. That reputation was solidified when the Jazz traded him, put a defensive specialist (Rudy Gobert) in his place, and improved greatly. Kanter was exposed as a starter, but flourished in a bench role over the past season and a half with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Jefferson should be primed for a Kanter-like role with the Pacers.

He’s the big man version of a scoring specialist like Jamal Crawford, Lou Williams, or any other typical offensive specialist who comes in off the bench. The only difference is that Jefferson has been a more efficient scorer who creates opportunities for teammates due to the attention he demands from defenses.

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Jefferson’s status of being a hindrance to his team’s defense will be minimized as a bench player who will be going up against mostly bench units, while his offensive strengths will be utilized against backup centers.

At the most basic level, it’s about relativity. Jefferson is terrible for a team’s defense when he’s going against guys like LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, and even a long, athletic rebounder like Tristan Thompson. His issues defensively don’t matter as much if Matthew Dellevedova, Richard Jefferson, and  Channing Frye are his opposition.

Another reason as to why Jefferson is a great fit with the Pacers is that he would seem like a solid fit next to Myles Turner, who can play both power forward or center. Turner’s offensive game at the moment relies mostly on pick-and-pop midrange jumpers, which would help space the floor when Jefferson operates in the low post.

On the defensive end, Turner is the rim protector that Jefferson is not. Turner averaged 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes and showcased an uncanny ability to contest shots at the rim. Just ask LeBron James.

Turner looks to be a defensive anchor in the making who just needs to get a better understanding of where he needs to be defensively.

Jefferson and Turner would seem to pair extremely well, as together they’d combine rim protection, low post scoring, and a dangerous pick-and-pop game.

Also, Jefferson’s deal seems to be a steal compared to other contracts that big men have received on the first day of free agency. Timofey Mozgov agreed to terms with the Lakers on a four-year, $64 million deal. Joakim Noah‘s negotiations with the Knicks aren’t finished yet, but they’re reported to be in the four-year, $72 million range.

Even with Jefferson’s injuries, he was a much better player than either Mozgov or Noah last season, yet signed for much less than those two.

For those struggling with the new cap, Jefferson’s three-year, $30 million deal would be the equivalent of a three-year, $22.3 contract on last year’s cap, which seems like a bargain for a player of Jefferson’s caliber in this crazy market.

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With the additions of Jeff Teague, Young, and Jefferson, the Pacers have made for one of the most interesting teams in the Eastern Conference and appear to be at the top of the list of teams that will challenge the Cavaliers for supremacy in the conference.