Domantas Sabonis came out of nowhere this season for the Indiana Pacers. Is he a part of the core, a role player, or something in between?
Rewind to 10 and a half months ago. As the league braced for the start of free agency, news broke that the Indiana Pacers had traded Paul George to the Thunder.
The story on ESPN.com mentioned the parameters of the trade early on in the piece, spoke extensively about the primary components — George himself and former No. 2 overall pick Victor Oladipo — and then, buried at the bottom in the literal last line of the story, was this:
"“Sabonis, the former Gonzaga standout, started 66 games as a rookie last season with OKC, averaging 5.9 points.”"
The second piece the Pacers were receiving in the deal may as well have been a 20 percent off coupon from Bed Bath & Beyond. Domantas Sabonis was an afterthought, if that.
Fast forward to today. The Pacers have a Sabonis problem on their hands, except probably not the one they anticipated. He’s too good, and his level of play has opened up questions that the franchise never thought it would have to ask, let alone answer.
It’s a welcome problem to have. Let’s take a look at how he and the Pacers got here.