Indiana Pacers: Ian Mahinmi and Solomon Hill Join New Teams
By Kyle Nishida
The Indiana Pacers lost a few members from last season’s team this weekend. Center Ian Mahinmi and small forward Solomon Hill agreed to contracts with other franchises.
Mahinmi agreed to a four-year, $64 million contract with the Washington Wizards on July 2nd. Meanwhile, Hill agreed to a four-year, $52 million deal with the New Orleans Pelicans on July 1st.
Up until this point, the Pacers have been only accumulating talent. They made two pre-draft trades that got them Jeff Teague and Thaddeus Young. Also, they drafted former Iowa State Cyclones‘ star Georges Niang and signed free agent Al Jefferson.
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The loss of Mahinmi and Hill marks the first time this offseason the Indiana Pacers lost players without getting anything back in return.
The Pacers had four players from last year’s team entering the free agent market: Mahinmi, Hill, Ty Lawson and Jordan Hill. With all the acquisitions the Pacers have been making this offseason, it was assumed that all, if not some, of those guys would not return for the 2016-17 season.
Mahinmi and Hill were unrestricted free agents so it was perfectly alright for them to accept deals elsewhere.
Mahimni played well in his last season with the Indiana Pacers. He started 71 games and averaged 9.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
Right before free agency period opened, there was speculation that re-signing Mahinmi was the Pacers’ first priority.
One of the #Pacers’ 1st calls after 12:01 am will be to Ian Mahinmi, per league source. Mahinmi has interest in resigning with the Pacers.
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) July 1, 2016
Those early contract talks went nowhere, and the Indiana Pacers began looking elsewhere. Their search led them to Al Jefferson, who agreed to a three-year, $30 million deal with them July 1st.
However, even after the Jefferson deal, the Pacers still wanted Mahinmi. Unfortunately, the Jefferson deal took themselves out of Mahinmi’s price range.
The #Pacers tried to reengage talks with Ian Mahinmi after the Al Jefferson deal, but we're told Mahinmi would be out of their price range.
— Nate Taylor (@ByNateTaylor) July 1, 2016
With Solomon Hill, the Indiana Pacers did not even entertain the notion of bringing him back. They did not extend a qualifying offer sheet to Hill, which would have made him a restricted free agent.
As a result, the Pacers would have had the chance to match Hill’s eventual deal with the Wizards.
With career averages of six points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, it is easy to see why the Pacers were ready to move on from their 2013 first round pick.
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Players come and go during free agency, and the Indiana Pacers are experiencing that right now. They have brought in a lot of good talent, but they are having to let their own free agents go, whether they want to or not.