Indiana Pacers: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason

Overall verdict

Incoming players are good to examine in a vacuum, but let’s give our final exam based on a holistic look at what the Indiana Pacers lost against what they brought in.

In terms of VORP/82 and limiting this to significant rotation minutes, the Pacers lost Thaddeus Young (3.13), Bojan Bogdanovic (1.32), Cory Joseph (0.80), Darren Collison (1.92) and Tyreke Evans (minus-0.71.)

They added Malcolm Brogdon (2.05), Jeremy Lamb (1.25), T.J. Warren (0.19) and T.J. McConnell (0.11) and drafted Goga Bitadze, whose rookie VORP is impossible to estimate, but unless he puts up a VORP like Nikola Jokic put up as a rookie (3.08 per 82), this looks like at best a wash for the Pacers and at worst an actual downgrade.

Thanks to the massive injury risks to the key incoming pieces and the lost impact of two of the best club and culture guys on last year’s team, even though each individual move looks great in a vacuum, in the context of “did the team actually get better” … no. No, they didn’t.

Failing to re-sign either or both of Young and Bogdanovic is going to hurt when the games start. I have to take big-time points off for that and it’s reflected in the final grade.

B-minus, because this team isn’t winning 48 games again, and fans will be furious when Warren and Brogdon are both injured instead of playing. It’s a classic “A for effort, D for execution” grade and a faceplant at the final hurdle.

Grade: B-