Why the Pacers should keep Jalen Slawson around

If it was just a few summer league games, I could understand anyone dismissing the numbers and highlights. However, Jalen Slawson was solid in his opportunity with the Pacers last season, and has always put up big numbers in the G-League.

Slawson played in 13 games for the Pacers this past year, and he had a solid audition, averaging 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks in 24 minutes. This all came after putting up big numbers for the Noblesville Boom which included being named to 1st-team All Defense in the G-League. Slawson also shot 37.5% from three in those 13 games, and he gave a lot of credit to Pacers Assistant Coach Jenny Boucek.

"I've done a lot of work with Coach Jenny," Slawson said after a big shooting night this past April. "She's really helped with my shot the last few weeks. Mostly, she's helped me understand my shot more and broken it down to a science and helped me understand why I miss when I miss."

The Pacers saw something with Slawson and gave him an opportunity. He responded with some good numbers in a small sample size. He also responded well to coaching and built a strong relationship there. And now he's turning some heads in the summer league. Add all of this up, and you start to wonder if he has done enough to earn his way onto a roster where there's a lot of competition at the back end.

Braden Smith is expected to make the roster, and Kobe Brown has an inside track as well. That could leave just one spot remaining for Slawson, Ethan Thompson, and Taelon Peter. Things could also get a little trickier if another team tries to swoop in on Slawson. The Pacers could still decide to match the offer and keep him around if they wanted to do so.

As we've seen in recent years, you can never have too much depth on your NBA roster. Even if Jalen Slawson doesn't enough to stick around, he may not crack the rotation to start the season. However, for a guy with a 7'0 wing span and with some "3 and D" talent that teams covet, it might be in the Pacers best interest to find a way to keep Slawson in Indy.