The Pacers took a familiar all-around guard from Marquette, then a virtual unknown out of Liberty thanks to a little inside knowledge.
When the second round of the NBA Draft started on Thursday, I was hoping to see Shams share a trade that the Pacers would use their No. 54 and No. 38 picks in the second round to move up and take Kam Jones out of Marquette.
As it turned out, they didn’t need to since Jones remained available for the 38th pick. After watching a season and playoff run fueled by exceptional effort all over the court, Jones was a player that looked like he would be a perfect fit. With good size, comparable to Andrew Nembhard, Jones can be a combo guard to fill whatever role is needed off the bench and as a four-year college player, should be ready to contribute right away.
The biggest knocks on Jones are his senior year three-point percentage which was just 31 percent. However, he shot just over 40 percent on more attempts as a junior, so there is hope he can continue developing that part of his game. He also averaged almost 6 assists (with minimal turnovers) and 4.5 rebounds per game as a senior doing most of the heavy lifting to run the team for Shaka Smart. Oh, and playing for Smart further emphasizes his ability to play hard at both ends of the floor.
For the perfect snapshot of both Jones’ ability and competitive ness, call up Marquette’s win over Purdue early in last season. In the win, Jones took his matchup with Braden Smith personally and delivered a 17-point, 13-rebound and 10-assist triple double. With the effort and depth approach the Pacers take, Jones seems like another option to play to exhaustion to impact the game.
Later in the second round, the Pacers surprised the masses and ESPN’s broadcast producers, by selecting Taelon Peter out of Liberty, with the 54th overall pick. ESPN had no highlights or much information to pass along, so the pick flashed on the screen without much analysis.
Turns out, Peter played three years of Division II ball before finishing his college career at Liberty. While looking at the stats and highlights, it is hard to believe Peter wasn’t a regular starter at Liberty. However, transferring in for his last season, Peter willingly took a reserve role to not upset returning starters.
The Pacers had some inside knowledge on Peter considering their scouting director, Ryan Carr has a son working as a manager for the basketball team. No doubt, Carr watched more Liberty games than any other NBA talent evaluator and had to fall in love with the athletic Peter who shot the lights out. He made over 70 percent of this two point shots and 45 percent from 3-land. Check out his highlights and his ability to get in the lane and finish and you can see why he mentions Derrick Rose as one of his favorite players.
After the draft, the Pacers added three players for summer league and preseason camp consideration. UConn big man Samson Johnson, won a couple of rings for the Huskies but only saw meaningful time in the second championship season and then last year. While his minutes weren’t big, he was able to get the ball in the hoop around the rim, making 77 percent of his shots. He has good size and energy for a 6’10 big man who can protect the rim and rebound.
The Pacers also added two more guards in RJ Felton out of Eastern Carolina and Steven Ashworth from Creighton. Felton has a similar type of game to that of Kam Jones, with decent guard size and energy at both ends. He averaged over 18 points per game and made strides in his 3-point shooting, finishing his senior season shooting 37.6 percent from behind the arc. Ashworth shot about the same from behind the arc but on more attempts. He averaged 16.4 points and 6.8 assists per game for Creighton.
Tony Bradley contract option, other qualifying offers
On Sunday afternoon,Michael Scotto reported that the Pacers exercised their team option on Tony Bradley. The option is worth $2.94 million and is non-guaranteed, giving the Pacers some flexibility for the remainder of the offseason, allowing them to include Bradley in a trade offer or possibly waive him should they need to play some salary cap gymnastics.
Also,Tony East reported that the Pacers made qualifying offers to Isaiah Jackson, Quenton Jackson and Enrique Freeman making all restricted free agents. The I-Jax offer is a bit surprising with him coming off an Achilles injury which you would think would limit his market. The qualifying offer number of $6.4 million seems a bit rich for the Pacers pending the numbers for Myles’ Turner’s extension that both sides are reportedly working on now.
A report on Turner’s status with the Pacers could be released any time while waiting on July 1st when the free agency signing period officially begins. Yep, the offseason is off and running.
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