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Indiana Pacers add forward Alex Poythress

By Adrian Lawhorn

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 12: Alex Poythress #5 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball against the New York Knicks on April 12, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 12: Alex Poythress #5 of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball against the New York Knicks on April 12, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Indiana Pacers continue their roster renovation by signing former Kentucky Wildcat Alex Poythress to a two-way contract.

The Indiana Pacers continued their roster makeover this week by signing Alex Poythress to a two-way contract. Poythress is a 6’7″, 238-pound forward who spent most of last season playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the D-League.

Poythress is most certainly a minor signing for the team, but he does possess some interesting traits that have the Pacers intrigued by his potential as an NBA prospect.

Alex Poythress played four years for the Kentucky Wildcats, so he has a strong college basketball pedigree. He was a quality role player for the Wildcats, averaging 10.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a senior.

Poythress is a very good athlete who shows strength and mobility that will allow him to compete at the NBA level if he is eventually given an opportunity to compete for playing time in Indiana.

He effectively utilizes his athletic prowess on the defensive end of the floor, and is considered to have solid potential as a defensive player at the pro level with his 6’11” wingspan.

Once thought of as a player who mainly scores around the rim, Poythress seems to have expanded his offensive repertoire. In 2016-17, he shot an impressive 40 percent on 3-point attempts while playing in the D-League.

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Overall, Poythress had a very good statistical season with the Mad Ants, posting averages of 18.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots per contest.

His shooting splits of .528/.403/.783 were also quite efficient, especially for a guy who was not known as a shooter throughout his college career.

It’s a very small sample size, but Alex Poythress played well in his six-game stint with the Philadelphia 76ers last year. He was thrust into a significant role off the bench, and produced 10.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per night for the Sixers.

While Poythress has some interesting tools in his arsenal, he will have to continue to improve and evolve as a player if he is ever to become part of Indiana’s regular rotation.

He is not a player who can create much offense on his own; he excels at diving to the basket off the pick-and-roll and scoring off put-backs, but he can’t create his own shot and isn’t able to drive to the basket from the perimeter.

Poythress doesn’t appear to have a post-up game to speak of, and while he has improved as a shooter, he needs to keep trending upward in that area to become a legitimate NBA player.

Going forward, Alex Poythress is likely to be a productive player in the G League, but no more than a 15th man for the Pacers.

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However, Indiana is the type of franchise that has to find savvy ways to unearth talent, and Alex Poythress is a player who has enough physical gifts and skill that he is worth taking a flyer on as a two-way contract guy.

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