How Might Free Agency Go For Indiana Pacers Forward JaKarr Sampson?

JaKarr Sampson finally proved his worth to NBA teams this season.

After bouncing around the league and playing for five different organizations from 2015-2020, Sampson showed this year that he can help any group. The forward was signed by the Indiana Pacers to provide depth and energy, but over the course of the season, he demonstrated that he can provide more than that and be a valuable squad member.

Now, as Sampson heads into free agency for the fifth consecutive offseason, his future outlook looks as good as it has since early in his career.

While the five-year veteran won’t give any team one of the key offensive skills every GM pursues — passing, shooting, or ball-handling — he provides the necessary defense, energy, and play finishing that every team needs to be a cohesive group. Sampson has mastered many of the skills required of ancillary players.

“That’s my game… bring that energy,” Sampson said earlier this season. “Be aggressive and bring that dog out there on the floor, do all that dirty work. I feel like every time I step on the court, that’s what I do.”

Any roster can use that type of player, a fighter that brings energy and intensity. A team that is looking toward the future could sign Sampson to play a few minutes here and there to provide toughness while not strongly impacting the result of games. A middling playoff team could add Sampson and confidently use him when there is an injury. A title-contending group could plant him at the end of their rotation knowing he will keep things steady in spot minutes. Any of the NBA’s 30 teams would be happy to add Sampson.

Something that increases the value of the scrappy St. John’s product is his ability to play multiple positions. Typically in his career, Sampson toggled between the forward spots; he split time on the wing as a small forward and roaming the baseline as a power forward. But in the NBA bubble, he proved that he can play center as well.

In the absence of Domantas Sabonis, Sampson was tasked with being the backup big man for the Pacers down the stretch of the season. Sampson measures only 6-foot-7, but he plays much bigger than that. He’s athletic and capable of thunderous dunks on offense, and on the defensive end he has the physicality to stay with opposing big men. He turned into a Swiss Army knife for the Pacers in their final eight games plus the playoffs.

“It’s no different,” Sampson said when comparing playing at center versus at forward. “When I come on the court I want to be aggressive and bring my team energy and juice and life… If anything, [at] the five spot I’m doing a lot more hitting. I kind of like that.”

Prior to the NBA restart, Sampson spent his time during the NBA shutdown travelling between Ohio, his home state, and Indiana in order to work out and stay in shape so he could be prepared when the league started up again. “My job is just to be ready,” Sampson said earlier this season. “Whatever role I get, just be ready. Take full advantage of it… just stay consistent and whenever my name is called be ready to bring that dog.”

That effort and work paid off, as Sampson was a needed member of the Pacers rotation in the bubble. Even while playing multiple positions, he spearheaded a strong Indiana defense that conceded only 102.1 points per 100 possessions with Sampson on the floor in their final eight games. In the postseason, despite Indiana’s many struggles, the team maintained a 109.3 defensive rating when Sampson was in the game, an adequate number.

That’s something Sampson’s next team can expect from him, whether it is the Pacers or someone else. They can look forward to someone who can be a useful utility man on defense, especially when the games matter most, and someone who will work hard to be prepared for the coming moment. Even if Sampson doesn’t play in every game for his next team, he will provide positive value in the minutes he does get.

Despite not possessing many flashy or creative skills, the 27-year-old isn’t useless on the offensive end of the floor. He hit over 59% percent of his shots for the blue and gold despite being a poor three-point shooter, and he is a solid screen setter and cutter. JaKarr has a few tricks up his sleeve that allow him to be a neutral on offense.

Chief among them is his dunking ability. Sampson is great at popping up around the rim in open space and finishing off a play with a monstrous slam. 21 out of his 68 made shots for the Pacers were rim rattlers, perhaps the highest percentage shot in basketball. That makes him useful when his team has the ball — as soon as Sampson’s opponent forgets about him, he cuts and dunks.

Prior to the NBA bubble, Sampson had already shown some improvement this season. But his end of season breakout cemented that he belongs on an NBA roster, and he paired that run of play with a solid postseason preperformance in which he had the best raw +/- on the Pacers. If his regular season showings didn’t prove he belonged in the league, his postseason utility did.

As an added bonus, Sampson’s teammates enjoy sharing the court with him. “I love playing with JaKarr,” Pacers wing Justin Holiday said this season. “If I was picking a team to play with, JaKarr is one of the guys I’m picking. Because he’s gonna play hard, regardless of mistakes. I like a guy that’s gonna play hard, one that can guard multiple positions, and is gonna be a frickin’ dog and run through you if he has to.”

Sampson nearly ended up playing in China this past season before the Pacers came calling with a one-year minimum contract. He wasn’t supposed to play much, and he ended up playing in only about half of Indiana’s total games this past season. But in his 38 appearances, Sampson proved that he can help an NBA team, and that should lead to another NBA contract instead of being forced to hunt for a deal overseas.

His limitations make it unlikely that he gets much more than the minimum again, if anything. But Sampson showed NBA organizations that he can play multiple positions, help a team win games, and be a terrific teammate. It’s easy to imagine teams wanting that from an end-of-bench player, especially when considering he is just 27 years old and still around his prime.

JaKarr Sampson isn’t going to be on the top of any team’s free agency wish list. But a team at any point in the roster building process could use a player like Sampson. He should be around in the NBA for a longer after a solid year with the Indiana Pacers.