Kelly Oubre finally gives the Pacers a wing-sized wing. His skills help, too.
The Pacers big splash in free agency is, quite literally, big for his position.
INDIANAPOLIS – Sort the Pacers roster from last season by height, then write down the list of players between Aaron Nesmith's listed 6'5 and Pascal Siakam's 6'8.
Ben Sheppard. Jalen Slawson. Jarace Walker. Kobe Brown.
That's the list. Four guards/wings all with, at most, three years of NBA experience. Go back to 2024-25 and that list loses Slawson and Brown and adds only James Johnson. The year prior? Doug McDermott and Kendall Brown were in the mix.
Even during the Pacers successful playoff runs in 2024 and 2025, they lacked wing-sized wings. Walker barely played in 2024 and got hurt in 2025. Sheppard has the frame of a guard. McDermott's minutes were spotty. Johnson and Brown hit the floor in garbage time. Brown and Slawson never played in the postseason.
Tony East
Calling this a hole on the Pacers roster would be a stretch. They got by with Walker, Sheppard, McDermott, and Mathurin. The latter two of those four are gone. The former two are both getting better but certainly at the back end of the Pacers list of rotation-quality players.
"Ben and Jarrace have both been key parts of a team that made it to the NBA Finals. So we've seen them contribute at that level," general manager Chad Buchanan said last week. "They're still young players. They're still developing and still growing. We're still evaluating that growth. Optimistic about both."
They are still growing and have had many positive moments over the last three seasons. But the Pacers are trying to win right now. Chasing more talent, and more consistency, was important. They knew depth was needed, and if possible, they needed a wing-sized wing.
Enter one Kelly Oubre. He's closer to Siakam's height but carries just under Nesmith's weight. That's a tall wing light enough to defend guards, a player size the Pacers haven't really had in their current era.
His top matchups last season as a defender display his size well: Jaylen Brown, Brandon Ingram, and Donovan Mitchell are the top three – some thinner yet tall wings, plus a guard. Derrick White, Saddiq Bey, CJ McCollum, and Kevin Durant also sit in the top 10.
Oubre's defense comes and goes, certainly. Pitching him as some set it and forget it stopper is misguided. But he has something the Pacers haven't had on the wing for a while: functional size. That's a meaningful addition even before looking at the skills he does add.
"I think one thing this season revealed for us is the need for some scoring off our bench… Probably from the wing position," Buchanan said in May. Insert Oubre, who is one of just 32 players who has averaged over 11 points per game since 2017-18.
Of those 32 players, only seven have never been an All-Star in that stretch: CJ McCollum, Tim Hardaway Jr, Aaron Gordon, Tobias Harris, Kyle Kuzma, Myles Turner, and Oubre. That's to say: the Pacers needed a wing and needed a scorer, but they also needed one that could be scaled down into a smaller role if needed. Oubre is one of the few that fit.
Last year, Oubre averaged 14.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while making 36% of his outside shots. With the caveat that his accuracy from long-range was a career-best percentage, Oubre was just one of 23 players to reach all of those marks last season.
Synergy Sports' play type data gives Oubre good marks as in "isolation" (helpful for a bench group looking for more shot creation), "miscellaneous plays" (good news for a Pacers team that takes pride in playing randomly), and "handoffs" (most often starting near the top of the key or on the right side of the floor since he's left handed). He linked up well with Joel Embiid and should slide in well playing off of Pacers center operating as a fulcrum.
It should be noted that Oubre graded out as average or better in 10 of Synergy's 11 play types, with the exception being post ups (of which he had 10 total last season). That fits within the general sales pitch I've been mentioning about Oubre since the signing: He's a generalist, not a specialist. He will almost never be the Pacers best option to do a specific thing – score in a certain way, take on a certain matchup, things of the like. But he will often be one of their best three to five options to do that specific thing, and that's incredibly useful.
Oubre graded out well on his catch-and-shoot jumpers last season and was particularly effective with his floater. That's a new skill for any Pacers wing, and Oubre's size lets him finish over smaller players when he gets within 10 feet of the cup.
Those who know Oubre and have worked with him before describe him as a positive, fun person. That intel always matters for a Pacers team that has great connection behind the scenes.
Oubre joins T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin as locks to play on Indiana's second unit. The starting five is set and has years of chemistry. Someone – either Jay Huff or Micah Potter, barring offseason changes – will be the backup center. That leaves just one spot for either Sheppard, Walker, or Quenton Jackson to get minutes – and the former two have the best shot at consistent playing time. That debate is better served for later in the offseason once it's clear the Pacers are done making moves.
Their first move was grabbing Oubre, someone with skills they needed. And he's a true wing. He will be a boon for the squad and should benefit from the Pacers system – and from playing with a passer like Tyrese Haliburton. His signing can become official once the moratorium ends on July 6.
Thank you for reading. Plenty more Pacers stories to come as the offseason keeps rolling. Sign up to have them sent straight to your email inbox.
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