Following Myles Turner's departure in the offseason, the Indiana Pacers made the choice to utilize a center-by-committee to replace him.
In theory, this is a good idea as it was always going to be tough for Indiana to find a one-for-one replacement for Turner. Instead of finding one player who can stretch the floor, protect the rim, and run the court at his level, the Pacers opted to have a rotation of players who can replace his value combined.
Heading into the season, the Pacers rostered four centers: Isaiah Jackson, Jay Huff, James Wiseman, and Tony Bradley.
Wiseman is already gone, and now, it seems like the Pacers have also made a decision on Bradley.
The Pacers are gradually reducing Tony Bradley's role
Signing Bradley, who was out of the league for two years, was a good decision for the Pacers last season. They needed center depth and a legitimate rebounder on the team. Bradley stepped up, appeared in three NBA Finals games, and earned a chance to further solidify himself as a legitimate contributor this season.
Unfortunately for the Florida native, he may have already hit his peak in a Pacers uniform.
In his first 13 games of the season (which included three starts), Bradley averaged 5.8 points and 3.3 rebounds while shooting 64% from the field in 14.4 minutes. Since then, he is averaging just 3 points and 1.3 rebounds on 42.9% shooting in 9.7 minutes. Additionally, he was a DNP in two games.
Bradley was always seen as at least the third-best center in Indiana's rotation. He's not as skilled as Jackson or Huff, doesn't have as much upside as them, and is pretty easily the most replaceable. He is not providing much defensive value as he is not mobile, and he is often late in rotations and switches, or just leaves his man too open. And when he's not getting blocks either, this is a recipe for disaster.
Additionally, Bradley does not provide much value offensively either. He can't space the floor since he isn't a three-point shooter, and he can't really score outside of the paint. According to Basketball-Reference.com, 39.3% of his shots fall between 3-10 feet and 3.3% from 10-16 feet.
Bradley can provide value as a pick-and-roll big man because of his 6-foot-11, 247-pound frame, but pick-and-rolls aren't a big part of Indiana's offense anyway as the team relies more on improvisation and pushing the tempo. Plus, if this is arguably his biggest value on offense, the Pacers should feel confident that they can eventually move on from him in favor of someone with more versatility and upside.
The 27-year-old is a fine big man, and the Pacers were 100% correct in giving him a chance last season and another one this time around. However, he has a low ceiling in Indiana, and at this point, it seems like he has taken even more of a backseat in the rotation and may not stick around for too much longer.