The Indiana Pacers were a surprising playoff team last year, pushing the Cavaliers to seven games in the first round as Victor Oladipo led the way in keeping Indiana as a contender in the East after the departure of Paul George.
In doing so, the Pacers became one of the more appealing destinations for mid-tier free agents this summer as one of the few competitive teams with considerable cap space. The Pacers were able to use that space to add Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott, and Kyle O’Quinn in free agency and continue to bolster their rotation in an effort to take advantage of an Eastern Conference without LeBron James.
O’Quinn joins Indiana after a solid season with the Knicks, where the New York native averaged 7.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, and figures to be a bench option for Nate McMillan in the frontcourt. On Monday morning, O’Quinn met with the media and explained why he chose the Pacers over staying with the Knicks and said it all came down to being competitive.
Kyle O'Quinn joins the #Pacers bench mob. Passed on an offer to return to hometown #Knicks "I wanted to play for something more than next year's draft." @WISH_TV pic.twitter.com/usqbometm8
— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) July 9, 2018
He’s not wrong as the Knicks aren’t going to be anywhere close to the playoff hunt this season, as Kristaps Porzingis likely to miss a decent portion of the year as he returns from his ACL injury and the rest of the roster is, well, pretty rough. For a veteran like O’Quinn, if the money is close to equal, being in Indiana and competing is far more appealing than another season in New York living near the bottom of the East.
Indianapolis might not be a top destination as far as NBA cities go for most players, but being a competitor is the great equalizer in free agency for smaller market teams.
