Indiana Pacers Going 'All-in' With Second-Round Picks

The Indiana Pacers and rookie Rakeem Christmas agreed to a four-year, $4-plus million contract on Monday, less than one week after acquiring the former Syracuse forward from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a future second-round pick.

Christmas became the second second-round draft pick from this year’s draft to sign an extended deal with the Pacers, joining former Oregon Duck Joe Young, who signed a similar deal earlier this month.

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The salaries and length of the contracts resemble what a late first-round draft pick would receive. More importantly, the first two years of each contract are fully guaranteed, meaning the Pacers are committed to Christmas and Young for multiple seasons.

The contracts are a bold move by Larry Bird and the Pacers, and should be seen as a vote of confidence for the two players.

But are the Pacers making the right decision by going “all-in” on a couple of second-round picks who have yet to play a minute of basketball in an actual NBA game? If both players live up to their potential, the answer is yes.

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A few weeks ago, I wrote an article arguing that Joe Young would make an immediate impact off the Pacers’ bench this season. Apparently, Bird sees the same potential.

Young’s strength lies in his scoring ability. He led all scorers in the Orlando Summer League, and looked like the prolific scorer that earned him PAC-12 Player of the Year honors.

Young’s ceiling likely falls somewhere between teammate Monta Ellis and the countless other dime-a-dozen undersized combo guards around the league. He’s already been compared to Ellis, but there is one major difference that separates him from Ellis — Young has a reliable three-point shot (he shot 39 percent from deep throughout his collegiate career).

Young’s shooting ability will be a welcome addition to a Pacers bench that struggled offensively last season. Ellis and sixth man Rodney Stuckey both excel at driving to the basket, but lack consistent jump shots. Because of his ability to shoot the long-ball and space the floor, Young will benefit from drives by Ellis and Stuckey and help provide bench scoring.

While Young will be expect to make an impact with his scoring, Christmas will be expected to provide defense and rebounding off the bench.

With the Pacers adopting a small-ball approach for next season, Christmas is a perfect fit for what the Pacers want to do. He has the physical tools and athleticism to run the floor while guarding larger post players.

Defensively, Christmas is an elite rim protector who uses his massive 7’5″ wingspan to disrupt shots. He is also athletic enough to step out on the perimeter and contest shots. Alongside lottery pick Myles Turner, the Pacers have two young post players who can run the floor and are more than capable of filling the shot-blocking void of Roy Hibbert.

Offensively, Christmas is still a work in progress, although he did improve substantially his senior year at Syracuse.

One area where Christmas does excel is finishing around the hoop. He has strong hands, and does a good job of finishing lobs in traffic. If he can develop a consistent mid-range jumper, he could become a solid starter in the league.

Young and Christmas are “low-risk, high-reward” picks. Both have plenty of potential, and if they reach their ceilings Bird and the Pacers will look like geniuses. If not, nobody will blame the Pacers for at least trying.

The Pacers believe that Young and Christmas can contribute to the team, otherwise they wouldn’t have signed them to long-term deals with guaranteed money. The team likely could have signed both players to lesser contracts, but are sending a message to the players. That message is that Young and Christmas are a part of the Pacers’ future.

And that’s why the Pacers are going all-in.

Next: Will Small-Ball Lineup Benefit Pacers?

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Indiana Pacers Going ‘All-in’ With Second-Round Picks

By Wally Hughes | Jul 30, 2015

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