Indiana Pacers: 5 offseason roster moves they must make

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 21: Justin Holiday #8 of the Indiana Pacers looks on during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 21, 2020 in New York City. 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. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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Indiana Pacers (Photo by Kim Klement – Pool/Getty Images) /

2. Trade T.J. Leaf

T.J Leaf, the 18th pick in the 2017 draft, has never looked at home in the NBA. Leaf has never averaged more than 9.0 minutes per game in any of his three seasons. Nor has he averaged more than 3.9 points per game.

For his career Leaf has averaged 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 8.7 minutes per game. These are not numbers that help the Pacers in any way. His best attribute is his 49.1 percent shooting from the field.

Overall he has shot the ball from between 0-3 feet 41.7 percent of the time, making 65.7 percent of his attempts. He shoots 24.0 of his shots from between 3-10 feet, making 43.3 percent of his attempts.

After this, Leaf begins to struggle. He does not shoot enough from beyond 10 feet to help the Pacers space the floor. However, the problem is that Leaf is due $4.3 million next season which is money that could be better spent elsewhere.

The Pacers would not be able to ask a huge amount for Leaf. They are unlikely to get a player who will move the needle at all. The best they could hope for is a late second-round pick. While this sounds like a lot of work to save $4 million, the Pacers have $124 million in committed salary.

They only have 12 players on their roster which means that they can only sign players at a minimum salary. If they can create an exception that gives them some wiggle room by trading Leaf then it will be worth it.

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