Indiana Pacers Get Major Steal By Signing Al Jefferson In NBA Free Agency
Evan Massey
The Indiana Pacers have been extremely aggressive this offseason and Larry Bird made yet another big move by signing Al Jefferson in NBA free agency. Indiana ended up signing him to a three-year, $30 million contract, which was extremely good value compared to other deals that were made. Jefferson may [...]
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Forbes
The Indiana Pacers have been extremely aggressive this offseason and Larry Bird made yet another big move by signing Al Jefferson in NBA free agency. Indiana ended up signing him to a three-year, $30 million contract, which was extremely good value compared to other deals that were made. Jefferson may be 31-years-old, but he could end up being the biggest steal of the offseason.

Coming into the offseason, the Pacers were looking to completely rebuild their team around superstar forward Paul George. He showed during the playoffs last season that he is ready to take the next step and truly power the Pacers toward an NBA Finals appearance.

If the Pacers want to get to the NBA Finals, they will have to go through teams like the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers.

After the Pacers signed Jefferson, they gained at least one major media personality. Colin Cowherd showered praise over Bird and made it clear that he believes they are a top-five team in the NBA.

Last season with the Charlotte Hornets, Jefferson faded a bit to a bench role. Even though he wasn't a dominant starting center anymore, he still found ways to make a major impact. He averaged 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor overall and 64.9 percent from the foul line.

Looking back at last season, Jefferson was one of the best post-up big men in the NBA on the offensive end of the floor. He finished third in the NBA coming off the bench in post points per game, averaging 7.7 per contest. The only two players ahead of him were Marc Gasol and Nikola Vucevic.

At 31-years-old, there is no question that Jefferson still has some basketball left to play. Bird is likely bringing Jefferson in to be one of the offensive focal points of the second unit. It is expected that Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young will be the starting center and power forward combo and that the starting unit will play a much more up-tempo pace than they have in recent years.

Jeff Teague was acquired ahead of the 2016 NBA Draft in exchange for George Hill, while Young was acquired for the No. 20 overall pick in the draft. Those two moves were huge steps in the right direction and set up this move for Jefferson perfectly. Following the move to bring Jefferson on board, Teague took to his personal Twitter account to show his excitement for the signing.

twitter-tweet">I love it

— Jeff Teague (@Teague0) July 1, 2016

How will Jefferson fit with the Pacers and what should fans expect from him during the upcoming 2016-17 NBA season?

Quite simply, the Pacers' second unit will run through the post unless they make another move or two. Jefferson will be one of the most consistent bench scorers in the entire league. Rodney Stuckey will not be a legitimate No. 1 scorer for the unit and neither will C.J. Miles or Joe Young, which is where Jefferson will make the biggest impact.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of this move, is that Jefferson will be able to mentor and teach Turner. He has always been one of the most dangerous offensive threats at the center position and Turner could learn a lot from him. Jefferson has also had a lot of success rebounding the basketball as well, which is a major area of need for the Pacers.

If they want to beat teams like the Raptors and Cavaliers, they will need a legitimate inside presence. Not having a blue collar center was a big reason that the Pacers fell short to Toronto in their seven game series.

All of that being said, it will be interesting to see what the Pacers are able to do this coming season. They have put together a lethal roster to say the least and appear to be one of the top teams in the NBA.

Expect to see Jefferson make a major impact for the Pacers and to prove to be one of the best free agency moves of the entire offseason.