NBA Free Agency: Grading all 30 teams on trades and signings

NBA Free Agency Grades: Indiana Pacers

Signings: Jalen Smith (3 years, $15.13 million)

Trades: Malcolm Brogdon to Celtics for Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and first-round pick

The Indiana Pacers haven’t bottomed out in decades, but they finally heard the music and decided to tear things down and stock the cupboards with draft picks and young talent. Tyrese Haliburton looks like a budding star, Bennedict Mathurin scorched Summer League and they still have multiple valuable veterans to bring in more value.

They took the next step during free agency by trading Malcolm Brogdon. On the one hand, they got a first-round pick and an interesting young wing in Aaron Nesmith for an injury-prone guard. On the other hand, they basically just got salary flotsam and a low-upside first for a player who had a strong case for the All-Star Game in two of the last three seasons.

The Pacers attempted to take a big swing by signing DeAndre Ayton to an offer sheet, one that the Phoenix Suns matched within minutes. They took a much more mild swing by bringing back Jalen Smith to a three-year deal at the maximum number they could sign him for after his rookie option was declined. As a stretch big Smith has shown flashes in the past calendar year and is a reasonable player to keep around on a low-cost deal.

Grade: B-