INDIANAPOLIS – SEPTEMBER 24: Domantas Sabonis #11 and Myles Turner #33 of the Indiana Pacers pose for a head shot during the Pacers Media Day on September 24, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and condition of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: 2018 NBAE (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Pacers have backed themselves off the ledge of trading Domantas Sabonis locking down the talented young big with a four-year extension.
Early in the summer, the Pacers voiced support for their twin towers pairing of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner. Despite a lack of any real statistical evidence that playing the two centers together was a viable strategy, the Pacers said in July that they planned to have them both in the starting lineup this season. It may have been a strategic stretch but it was a soft hedge at keeping both players happy as they headed into contract extension negotiations with Sabonis before the season.
Then last week rumors surfaced that the Pacers and Sabonis were far apart on an extension with the team exploring trades rather then risk letting him either leave in restricted free agency next summer or return at an inflated cap number because of a bloated offer sheet from another team. Whatever bad juju was building seems to have been wiped away by the news that Sabonis agreed to a four-year, $79.5 million extension.
This move stabilizes the roster heading into the season, removing what could be a chaotic chemistry situation. On paper, the deal is also extremely tradable so the Pacers haven’t really locked themselves into anything, just removed the pressure of a clock so that they can see how the pairing plays out on the court this season.
The two key numbers to watch with Sabonis and Turner in the first few weeks of the season will be the team’s point differential for minutes when they are both on the floor, and what percentage of their minutes overlap. The Pacers have been dominant in minutes they have played separately so those two numbers will indicate both the developing effectiveness of the pairing (or lack thereof) as well as the degree to which Indiana is actually committed to that starting group or simply using it to symbolically demonstrate to each player how much they are valued.
Indiana opens their season Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons who, with Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin in the frontcourt, are one of the few opponents for whom a two-big lineup really makes sense.