The Indiana Pacers made a great signing in Al Jefferson. But what is his role on the team?
Although it wasn’t high profile, the Indiana Pacers made one of the best signings in free agency. The Pacers signed former Charlotte Hornet center Al Jefferson to a three-year deal worth around $30 million. For a player like Jefferson, that type of contract looks like it could be a steal.
But Indiana has to use Jefferson in the right way to get the most out of him.
Just like Jefferson, the Indiana Pacers will be undergoing a change as well. They have swapped out Frank Vogel for Nate McMillan and some big changes will be seen on the court, especially on the offensive end.
McMillan-coached teams love to play a slow type of offense, working each possession to get the best available shot. Even if that means that the shot comes with a few seconds left on the shot clock.
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In all of his years coaching, McMillan has only had one team ranked better than 20th in the league in terms of pace.
Although playing slow doesn’t mean a lack of success on the offensive end, it certainly raises some questions about the Pacers front office.
Larry Bird, who is the president of basketball operations for the Pacers, stated that he would like the Pacers to play at a fast pace this season. Hiring McMillan doesn’t seem to back up that statement.
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But McMillan’s style could help Jefferson, who isn’t the quickest big man down the court. At age 31, Jefferson could benefit from McMillan’s slow style of offense.
The ideal role for Jefferson at the moment is going to be coming off the bench and providing some scoring on the inside. He will see a lot of minutes at the backup center spot. Other than Myles Turner, Jefferson is only Pacers player 6’10” or taller.
With that being the case, if the Pacers have a lot of options if they want to play small. They don’t have that many options when it comes to playing fast.
It makes sense to have Turner starting over Jefferson. The future is bright for Indiana’s 2015 first-round pick. He took on a huge role for the Pacers and showed he has what it takes. Turner averaged 10.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and shot very well from the field with an eFG% of 50.1.
There is still a lot he has to improve on and he will those changes will come with more time on the court.
It’s hard to fathom that a guy like Jefferson, who averaged 21.8 points just two seasons ago, would be coming off the bench. But right now it seems like the best move for the Pacers. Jefferson can be the go-to guy off the bench and use McMillan’s coaching style to his advantage.
He had more than 64 percent of his field goal attempts come within two feet of the basket. Many of those baskets came through post ups and those take some time to set up and run.
It might not be the case for the starters, but the bench could play a slower type of offense with Jefferson on the floor.
Jefferson will likely be Indiana’s best offensive player coming off the bench. C.J. Miles has proven to be the only other backup who can score consistently and could help out Jefferson. But other than those two, who knows where the offensive output will come from.
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Jefferson can also help out on the defensive end in terms of rim protection. But he will be mainly there to provide offense. It won’t be like Charlotte, though, where he had a big scoring load for the Hornets.
Indiana has a number of different options to help out on offense in their starting lineup. Jefferson will have to lead the backups offensively.
Despite his expected drop in playing time, Jefferson can still have a big impact on this team. Indiana has a lot of questions to answer about their bench at the moment. They really need Jefferson to contribute when he is on the court.
Other than him, they really don’t have any other proven big men who can give them solid minutes. In a situation where the Pacers offensive style could clash with the personnel, it does fit the style of Al Jefferson.
There are still questions about his health and how much he can still produce at his age. But if the Pacers are able to manage his minutes well and keep him healthy, he will be a great signing.
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The Indiana Pacers made a great signing by getting him on a cheap contract, now it’s time for him to make the contract look even better.