Pacers projected to have $47 million in cap space for '18

[Owen_Bart]

I suppose it depends how the Pacers see their future. Either use that cap space to absorb contracts and collect picks through the year or spend it next summer.

If they are going for it I can see them throwing max contracts at Thomas and Bradley with the knowledge that they can play well together. So possibly a starting 5 of Thomas Bradley Robinson Sabonis/Leaf Turner with Oladipo as the 6th man.

Would that team challenge in the East with an few vet additions though. If not they might as well absorb some contracts for picks.

[tocooks101]

Thomas is a definite possibility, paying Oladipo 24million a year to come off the bench is a much less likely idea.

I wouldn't be surprised if we on in on Smart and Noel too.

[Wizop]

I don't see the point in throwing big money at players much older than our core.

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[pacers33granger]

I wouldn't be surprised if we on in on Smart and Noel too.

I would be. Smart is a RFA so Simon will say no and we have a bunch of young bigs as it is, even if Noel is better than any not named Turner.

[pacers33granger]

Realistically I think our best shot at using the cap space effectively is to get paid in a dump for a player we can actually use. Not a lot of space out there next offseason so teams will be trying to create it and we're in the driver's seat there. Now who that would be I have no idea, but I'm not confident we can outright sign anyone worth it without severely overpaying.

[tocooks101]

Realistically I think our best shot at using the cap space effectively is to get paid in a dump for a player we can actually use. Not a lot of space out there next offseason so teams will be trying to create it and we're in the driver's seat there. Now who that would be I have no idea, but I'm not confident we can outright sign anyone worth it without severely overpaying.

I am not against this strategy, but with the way this front office thinks I don't see us using all our cap space to accommodate other teams for draft picks, I don't think we have ever done anything like that before that I can remember.

Smart is an RFA but Boston has made it clear they wont overpay their guys, I would have no problem paying a little over market value for a player that young in this market.

Anyway you slice it we are in a great position for next year, all options should be on the table

[pacers33granger]

Realistically I think our best shot at using the cap space effectively is to get paid in a dump for a player we can actually use. Not a lot of space out there next offseason so teams will be trying to create it and we're in the driver's seat there. Now who that would be I have no idea, but I'm not confident we can outright sign anyone worth it without severely overpaying.

I am not against this strategy, but with the way this front office thinks I don't see us using all our cap space to accommodate other teams for draft picks, I don't think we have ever done anything like that before that I can remember.

Smart is an RFA but Boston has made it clear they wont overpay their guys, I would have no problem paying a little over market value for a player that young in this market.

Anyway you slice it we are in a great position for next year, all options should be on the table

I can't recall us doing it before either, but I was getting at us taking on a player (maybe for compensation). Something like if NOP wants to shed salary so they just give us Moore.

With Smart I'd be shocked if Simon reverses course on his stance that we never go after RFAs but who knows. I've long been a Smart fan so I'd love him at a reasonable price.

[Boneman2]

Yeah, Simon is putting us at a disadvantage by not going after RFAs because it's not reciprocated.

While I like Bradley and IT, Bradley is repetitive with Dipo already on the roster and IT is too old for our team.

I like Julius as I feel he has a little Zach Randolph in him. Otherwise, I would preserve cap-space until 2019 then offer Klay Thompson the highest amount possible. We could also absorb salary from other teams as way to gain assets.

[boomershadow]

Yeah, Simon is putting us at a disadvantage by not going after RFAs because it's not reciprocated.

While I like Bradley and IT, Bradley is repetitive with Dipo already on the roster and IT is too old for our team.

I like Julius as I feel he has a little Zach Randolph in him. Otherwise, I would preserve cap-space until 2019 then offer Klay Thompson the highest amount possible. We could also absorb salary from other teams as way to gain assets.

I think our strict stance on RFAs is a little bit weird, but I'm not sure how much of a disadvantage it really puts us at. It seems like their home teams match the offer the majority of the time, and in the rare cases when that doesn't happen it's because the contract is a huge overpay to begin with.

[pacers33granger]

Yeah, Simon is putting us at a disadvantage by not going after RFAs because it's not reciprocated.

While I like Bradley and IT, Bradley is repetitive with Dipo already on the roster and IT is too old for our team.

I like Julius as I feel he has a little Zach Randolph in him. Otherwise, I would preserve cap-space until 2019 then offer Klay Thompson the highest amount possible. We could also absorb salary from other teams as way to gain assets.

I think our strict stance on RFAs is a little bit weird, but I'm not sure how much of a disadvantage it really puts us at. It seems like their home teams match the offer the majority of the time, and in the rare cases when that doesn't happen it's because the contract is a huge overpay to begin with.

I tend to agree to a point, but it may put us at a bit of a disadvantage given that we likely have no contact at all with those guys' agents since they know there's no offer coming and some become unrestricted or it's clear that the incumbent team is fine with a basic sign and trade to get a TPE or something (no idea if Simon would be fine with it then though).

With Randle at least we know we can cross him off the list even if LA renounces him given that Mintz is his agent.

[winter_mute_13]

I like to point out that the Pacers went after Copeland when he was RFA and even managed to sign him (I also like to forget the rest of his tenure here, oh well). There were special circumstances involved - the Knicks only had the midlevel exception available which they used on Prigioni instead - but the Celtics could be a special circumstance too. After all, they let RFA Oynyk walk this year since they were after bigger fish. It could be that Smart will be in a similar situation next year. So if you're a big fan of Smart (I'm not), there's still hope.

Regarding Mintz, well the dude has a pretty long client list, including Poythress who we signed after the PG trade, so it seems like both the Pacers and Mintz have no problems putting business first. Not that I want the Pacers to go after Randle - I don't really see the fit even if he were more than just potential.

[Major Cold]

We are not spending 47 million next summer you can book it. Most of the money will be used to extend Myles and give GRIII 10 million. We make a run at a top tier FA, but they aren't signing here. With superteams, more vets will demand trades and we won't be on that short list. The only thing we have going for us is signing underachievers and hope they turn a new Leaf. Or if Leaf himself turns into a stud. I think we will have a better chance of Paul signing with us next offseason though....which would be hilarious.

[pacerized]

At this stage having cap space is almost pointless. We need to keep players that we want to see on the roster 5 years from now and if the opportunity is there to obtain draft picks using our cap space we should do that. We're not bringing in an impact player to take us to the next level when we're 3 levels away from contending.

[winter_mute_13]

I agree that trading cap space for future assets is probably going to be our main strategy. That said, if someone like IT wants to sign here, and it's a contract we can live with (for IT something like max $ but for only 2 years) then I'd be all for it.

Signing underachievers to big contracts is risky business but I guess we kind of did that by trading for Oladipo. Looking at FA lists for 2018, no one really jumps out to me right now as a good prospect who can be potentially available, but maybe one of those guys will put in some extra contract year effort.

[Bobby The Brain]

The free agent list looks underwhelming, to say the least. Couple that with how difficult it will be for a sub-par team in a small market to attract suitors, and I'm not at all excited by this news.

[AussiePacer]

I wonder how difficult it would be to sell a destination organisation for 2 years while the East is weak to make a run at finals. With Turner, Oladipo and Lance as a 6th man, we have some pieces and another top line player or 2 could give us a strong chance, particularly if some of our current players improve.

Would that be a direction fans tolerate? Would it be possible to sell the vision to players and their managers?

[HoopsMalone]

The Pacers are in a really nice spot, but I'm not sure Pritchard will take great advantage.
Cap space is at an absolute premium right now obviously. That should push the price for certain midlevel and lower tier guys way down. But that isn't really going to help the Pacers. Sure, they could surround Turner/Oladipo with some decent guys and make a run at the 5 seed, but that's a terrible idea really.

The thing to really think about is some teams are looking at paying luxury taxes and soon repeater luxury taxes. Others are struggling to generate revenues and have big extensions coming up. Or just want to clear space to assemble a competitive team. The Pacers with $80 MILLION could take on multiple bad deals like a Deng, Noah, Turner, Dellevedova, Bazemore, etc and just load up on picks and prospects. These vets would help the Pacers still field a competitive (possibly playoff) team but really load the cupboard with multiple picks.

This is clearly the time to load up on assets for a team like the Pacers. There are so many negative value contracts out there that you could really clean up.