Report: Pacers interested in Gani Lawal

[Grang33r]

Per RealGM basketball insider Shams Charania-

After a breakout season in Europe, Gani Lawal has intrigued NBA teams and could receive consideration for a contract, league sources told RealGM.

Lawal has already scheduled workouts – private and as part of mini-camps – with the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic, sources said. Four to five other teams have discussed bringing him in to work out, too.

Lawal, the 6-foot-9 athletic, scrappy forward, had his best professional season with Italy’s Virtus Roma, averaging 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. Virtus Roma has gone 20-10 this season and ranks third in the league standings.

Link- http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... n-In-Italy

Can't hurt to bring him in and see what he has to offer. He's still only 24 years old.

[Wizop]

could be a replacement for Green. Sam Young earned a contract offer from me based on his play in game 6 against the Knicks. Sam allowed us to keep single covering everyone when Paul was resting and I think that impacted the game. he also had several key rebounds.

[Scoot McGroot]

Eh, probably another Lance like development project. I'd rather give Norvel Pelle a shot with our 2nd.

[Moooose]

Wasn't a surprise at all, as he was a good prospect out of high school. Never was that good in college though, could've stayed for his final year. He was still very raw when he left though just like Stephenson, he's got the potential. And now he's older and his game is coming to fruition, did really well for Virtus. If he would turn out to be a quicker, more athletic version of Ike Austin, he'd be a steal.

[8305]

I think this guy is potentially a 4/5 type player. That would make him a replacement for Tyler or Pendergraf or both. The proto type I see is Antonio Davis. College player not ready for the NBA, good athlete, nice size, who goes over seas and comes back ready to go. Someone like that could realistically compete with Mahamni and Plumlee for a spot in the rotation.

[Nuntius]

He was decent in Europe. Not the biggest guy but he is long enough to play the 4. Good athlete. He has shed weight and added some muscle in Europe. He looks nimbler now.

[chube]

Always an interesting prospect. However, the last time we threw money at a strike-while-the-iron's-hot free agent, it was Gerald Green. He hasn't been a complete bust by any means (considering his salary is reasonable), but just need to be wary.

[Jake0890]

Would rather not waste the money here. Let's spend it somewhere else. I'm sure we could get a guy of equal talents in the 2nd round anyways. Just someone super raw with a high ceiling.

[Grang33r]

Would rather not waste the money here. Let's spend it somewhere else. I'm sure we could get a guy of equal talents in the 2nd round anyways. Just someone super raw with a high ceiling.

You hit it on the nail there. Any guy, even with equal talent sets as Lawal, would be raw and would play as much, as Plumlee did this past season. Lawal should be NBA-ready next season. No other reason to sign Lawal if the basketball department didn't he was ready.

[8305]

I wouldn't think the Pacers would be bringing him in if they didn't think he was potentially an upgrade over Hansbrough, Mahamni or Plumlee. Hope they are better at assessing him than they were assessing Gerald Green.

[Wizop]

I don't think it is a lock that Hansbrough comes back. he seems to be respected by coaches, both ours and others, and so he could get an offer we can't match.

[Scoot McGroot]

I don't think it is a lock that Hansbrough comes back. he seems to be respected by coaches, both ours and others, and so he could get an offer we can't match.

I agree. He's a fun player, and a fan favorite, but he's just a very flawed player. He'll probably net a Brandon Bass-like or Glen Davis like contract, and that's just insane.

[Wizop]

I'm not sure I'd even match a full mid-level exemption offer for Tyler although if he walks backup four is going to be a problem. power forward seems to be the weakest position in this draft so signing one who has been playing overseas could make a lot of sense.

[Scoot McGroot]

I'm not sure I'd even match a full mid-level exemption offer for Tyler although if he walks backup four is going to be a problem. power forward seems to be the weakest position in this draft so signing one who has been playing overseas could make a lot of sense.

I'd be relatively ok with Pendergraph and adding another $2-4m kind of PF. Maybe one who only has a year or two left, or one who's a year or two before their prime.

[8305]

If Granger makes it back I expect he will get minutes at the 4. That being the case how bad do you need a true backup for that position anyway?

[Wizop]

unless we totally fell into the workout warrior trap, Plumlee should be able to challenge Pendi for backup minutes next year. I'm not sure we really need a veteran's minimum type guy although a savvy older player on the way down might be more useful than a young player not yet ready for prime time.

[8305]

In Summer League games I thought Plumlee looked better than Perdergraf. There were also games where he got the better of Festus Ezeli and Fab Melo. He got so little run this year you really can't draw much of conclusion as to what we have in him. I'd like to think that over the course of time next season he'll evolve into a legit alternative to Mahamni.

[Nuntius]

In Summer League games I thought Plumlee looked better than Perdergraf. There were also games where he got the better of Festus Ezeli and Fab Melo. He got so little run this year you really can't draw much of conclusion as to what we have in him. I'd like to think that over the course of time next season he'll evolve into a legit alternative to Mahamni.

Plumlee showed that he can play in the SL. It's a shame that we didn't use him at all, imo.

[chube]

Either way, I think we need a stretch 4/5 who can handle the Bosh's, Josh Smith's, even Horford's of the league. Against guys like Horford, Roy is a little more ineffective and Hansbrough can't quite hang with them either. Whether that's Plum, Pendy, Lawal, or a rook, whatever. If Anthony was any quicker, West would've had trouble.

[Nuntius]

I'm not quite sure that Lawal can handle those stretch 4s. He is more of an inside player on both ends of the court from what little I've seen of him (very small sample size, though).

I agree that we need a quick defender at the 4 that can handle the PnR and those stretch 4s.