Woj: Pacers finalizing deal w Al Jefferson

[pacers33]

Wow I'm impressed. Sure, Al isn't a defensive anchor but he's a solid big man with a good offensive game. Should be something familiar to McMillan.

[Moooose]

I do not think he'll get heavy minutes with the core of guys the Pacers have, so I am not overly concerned about his injury. Nate and the coaches knows that they need to keep him fresh, especially in the postseason. I expect him to come into play whenever we struggle with the small ball and whenever the opposing team do not have any one who can defend post players.

[SBM]

Not in love with Big Al but the bench will be legit and have offensive firepower with guys like Al, Miles, and Stuckey who have been big time starters before. I still question chemistry and fit for this team.

[Scoot McGroot]

Not in love with Big Al but the bench will be legit and have offensive firepower with guys like Al, Miles, and Stuckey who have been big time starters before. I still question chemistry and fit for this team.

Very fair questions to have, and I'm right there with you. It's such a bargain I can overlook it, though. I mean, if we're going to be a jumble of chemistry that needs to be worked through, might as well be cheap.

[SBM]

Not in love with Big Al but the bench will be legit and have offensive firepower with guys like Al, Miles, and Stuckey who have been big time starters before. I still question chemistry and fit for this team.

Very fair questions to have, and I'm right there with you. It's such a bargain I can overlook it, though. I mean, if we're going to be a jumble of chemistry that needs to be worked through, might as well be cheap.

And talented

[pacers33]

Yeah, you know even if it doesn't work chemistry wise, it's hard to be mad at Bird. You can see what he's going for here.

[Scoot McGroot]

Al's last year is only $4m guaranteed per Larry Coon.

[Moooose]

I think BIg Al will be kept fresh throughout the year for the postseason. Though he really doesn't fit the small ball idea, he'll be a challenge for the opposing bigs who will try to guard his post moves. And also, having someone like him who is a threat in the post, would free up Myles a lot.

[JeffFosters]

Bird's presser was interesting, where he said that the Pacers can play uptempo and then get into a halfcourt set with Al. So he definitely has some packages in mind for the bench squad.

Having different looks on offense is important, so I'm weirdly excited about Al Jefferson.

[Wizop]

McMillan specifically referenced the show time Lakers who played so fast that Kareem sometimes didn't get past half court but if the break stalled he became a low post presence. he thought Jefferson could do the same.

[Grang33r]

Wanna learn more about Jefferson? Pacers.com just did a "7 things to know about Al Jefferson"

Link- http://www.nba.com/pacers/gallery/7-things-know-about-al-jefferson

Some cool tidbits in there. Highly recommend it.

[rallydurham]

Surprised the reactions are so positive to Jefferson. He hasnt been the same player since his injury in the playoffs 3 years ago. Hornets fans were pretty glad to get rid of him. He can't defend the pnr.

You guys had a pretty awful 2nd unit so I can see why you'd want some offensive punch though. I think giving up on mahinmi was a big mistake though for al

[Pacersike]

Surprised the reactions are so positive to Jefferson. He hasnt been the same player since his injury in the playoffs 3 years ago. Hornets fans were pretty glad to get rid of him. He can't defend the pnr.

You guys had a pretty awful 2nd unit so I can see why you'd want some offensive punch though. I think giving up on mahinmi was a big mistake though for al

I must have expressed most of my negative feelings towards the signing in a different thread, but I surely feel negatively about it.

His offensive efficiency was piss poor the last 2 seasons and defensively, he will expose our undersized backcourt.
Monta Ellis his defense only becomes problematic when he gets help from a player like big slow Al, in stead of someone like Ian.

The only positive I see is that he is like the opposite of Myles Turner and he will give us flexibility to try a totally different offense in games.

[rallydurham]

His face up jumper is bad but he doesn't hesitate to use it. Hes still got some post moves but they aren't usable against half the matchups in the league because his athleticism has declined so much.

Teams run the pnr at him over and over again because he doesn't move well laterally and he's not big enough to defend the lob passes to the roller. His rebounding is shoddy. His health concerns are real as he's missed quite a few games the last few years.

The hornets really didn't want him back at any price, I was shocked he got more than like 2/ $12

[Scoot McGroot]

Surprised the reactions are so positive to Jefferson. He hasnt been the same player since his injury in the playoffs 3 years ago. Hornets fans were pretty glad to get rid of him. He can't defend the pnr.

You guys had a pretty awful 2nd unit so I can see why you'd want some offensive punch though. I think giving up on mahinmi was a big mistake though for al

He's so cheap it's hard to hate it. His last year is only $4m guaranteed.

Really, we let Ian Go to start Myles Turner, and Al is coming in to play 18-24 minutes backing up Myles. He probably won't play much with Monta either, and will only be going up against other teams second string offensive options. Yeah, he's a lot less mobile than Ian, but Ian got $64m and Al got $30.

[boomershadow]

Al looked really good this past game I saw vs the Bulls. The idea that bench players don't stand a chance of guarding Big Al seems to be panning out well so far. I did really notice, and maybe it's even more glaringly obvious due to the style we've had the last few years, but I don't think he can guard those bench players either. He supposedly talked to Myles about wanting to show him some low post moves. Any chance a bit of Turner's rim protection can rub off on him in reverse?