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Indiana Pacers Are Winners of Free Agency Thus Far

By Garrett Hagan

May 16, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird announces Nate McMillan as the new head coach during a press conference at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
May 16, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird announces Nate McMillan as the new head coach during a press conference at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Indiana Pacers have been the big winners of this year’s free agency period so far. The team signed center Al Jefferson to a three-year, $30 million contract — a bargain given how much money has been tossed around just in a matter of two days.

Indiana Pacers team president Larry Bird has clearly had his sights set on improving the Pacers’ roster this offseason, and he has done just that — acquiring Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young in trades, and now adding another big-man to the roster in Al Jefferson.

On paper, the Pacers look to be having the most successful offseason out of any other team in the league up to this point. What’s crazy about the Jefferson deal is that for roughly $10 million-per-year, the team gets a viable asset that can both produce and help develop the younger guys, I.e. Myles Turner.

At the age of 31, Jefferson may be older than the rest of his pears on his new team, but he has shown that he can still be an asset. Through 12 seasons in the league, Jefferson has averaged 16.7 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 49% from the floor. Not bad for $30 million.

In terms of how good the deal may actually be, here’s a look at some of the contracts given out the past two days since the free agency period started — try to recognize a few names, you probably won’t.

  • Los Angeles Lakers sign C Timofey Mozgov — four years, $64 million.
  • Washington Wizards re-sign G Bradley Beal — five years, $130 million.
  • Orlando Magic re-sign F Evan Fournier — five years, $85 million.
  • Portland TrailBlazers sign F Evan Turner — four-year, $75 million.
  • Memphis Grizzlies sign F Chandler Parsons — four-year, $94.8 million.
  • New Orleans Pelicans sign F Solomon Hill — four-year, $48 million.
  • Memphis Grizzlies re-sign G Mike Conley — five-year, $153 million, the richest contract in NBA history.
  • Atlanta Hawks sign C Dwight Howard — three-year, $70.5 million.

These are just a handful of the total signings made in the past couple of days but as you can see, money has been thrown around left and right to players — some deserving of the deals, and some leaving you wondering how in the world that certain player got paid that much money.

In essence, this makes the Jefferson deal look like a complete steal given his ability to produce and the Pacers having a proven talent opposed to some of the names mentioned above.

Colin Cowherd of Fox Sports even went as far to say that the Pacers are now a top-five team in the NBA after the signing of Jefferson.

While Cowherd’s assessment of the Pacers now being a top team in the league may be a little far-fetched as of right now, it goes without saying that the Pacers are by far a better team than what they were a few weeks ago.

Next: Indiana Pacers Strengthen Roster By Adding Al Jefferson

It’s truly too early to tell just how good a team will be given that free agency is not over yet, and we have not seen this Pacers team play a single game yet — building the right amount of chemistry is critical for success in this league. However, Bird seems to be doing a fantastic job with his team thus far, and could have the Pacers amongst the ranks of one of the East’s best team’s by next season. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Be sure to follow Ink On Indy as we continue our coverage of the Indiana Pacers’ offseason.

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