The Indiana Pacers' path to the NBA Finals has been nothing short of magical. From crazy comebacks to unreal performances, like Aaron Nesmith's incredible 3-point shooting in game one against the Knicks, this run has been extraordinary. One player who stood out is Thomas Bryant, whom Indiana acquired midseason for a second-round pick swap with the Miami Heat.
The Pacers made this move because they went through so many injuries in their frontcourt, but no one expected him to have the impact he has had. In game six, he was critical off the bench in 13 minutes. He nailed 3/4 3's and had 11 points, giving the Pacers a massive boost and sending them to the finals. However, with Myles Turner and Bryant set to be free agents, the Pacers will likely focus on bringing Turner back, leaving TB to look for other opportunities.
Energy and threes are precisely what they need
With Bryant entering free agency, he should be a guy the Pelicans' front office should pursue aggressively. The energy he brings to the locker room and when on the bench cheering on his teammates is something this team needs. His ability to come into games and be a sparkplug in short spurts has been on display all playoffs.
Thanks to the taxpayer mid-level exception, the Pelicans will have just around $5.7 million to spend this summer. With Yves Missi being a traditional back-to-the-basket center, bringing someone like Bryant would be a good contrast. The 27-year-old can space the floor well and is still a quality defender, which would make for a great fit behind the rookie big. Bryant is a career 34.6% 3-point shooter and has had 3 seasons where he shot above 40% from deep.
With New Orleans still having Kelly Olynyk, the question is how Bryant would react if he ended up out of the rotation. All the signs point to him being just fine as long as the team wins games. During the series against the Knicks, he completely fell out of the rotation in favor of Tony Bradley, but Bryant reacted fine, he was still standing the whole game, cheering on his guys and being the ultimate hype man.
But a lot of the time, when guys come out of the rotation, they aren't remaining ready, but Bryant did. Bradley went down with an injury in game five against the Knicks, and Bryant answered the bell, leading him to exploding in game 6.
With Bryant's unselfishness from team to team, his incredible play during Indiana's playoff run, and his ability to space the floor for guys like Zion Williamson and Dejounte Murray, he would be a dream signing for the Pelicans.