With Victor Oladipo set to miss a considerable portion of the 2019-20 season with his rehab, the Indiana Pacers had to look for guards on the free agency market.
At the end of the free agency, the guards expected to see the most playing time, as per ESPN's depth chart for the team, are all players the franchise have signed in the 2019 offseason.
One of those guards is seven-year veteran Jeremy Lamb.
Background
Jeremy Lamb was born in Henrico, Virginia on May 30, 1992.
High school & College experience
Lamb attended high school at Norcross High School in Norcross, Georgia. He led them to a record of 27-3, the elite 8 of the state playoffs and a regional championship.
He then committed to the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut.
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Playing a couple of years for the UConn Huskies, he was a member of the NCAA Championship-winning squad in 2011. In the second season (2012) at college, he was named to the First-Team All-Big 12.
NBA career
Lamb was picked 12th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets.
However, just a couple of days before the regular season tipped-off, he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder along with Kevin Martin in exchange for James Harden, Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward and Daequan Cook.
Lamb then spent the next three seasons in Oklahoma City Thunder with averages of 7.0 points and 2.1 rebounds on 42.2% shooting from the field.
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In the offseason of 2015, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for Luke Ridnour and a 2016 second-round pick. Signing a three-year extension, Lamb spent the next four seasons with the Hornets which included a playoff appearance in 2016.
His current career-high of 32 points, on an efficient 11-of-17 shooting, came in a loss to the Toronto Raptors on December 20, 2017.
The other noteworthy moment from his time with the Hornets was a game-winner. Not just any game-winner, it was a buzzer-beating game-winner shot from half-court - the second-longest game-winning buzzer-beater in the past 20 seasons.
This past July, the Pacers signed Lamb to a 3-year $31.5 million contract.
Skill set
Lamb has quietly shown huge improvement over the four seasons in Charlotte. The 2018-19 season, his last with the Hornets, he finished with averages of 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 28.5 minutes on 44.0% shooting from the field.
The Hornets have given him multiple opportunities with more playing time and as the numbers suggest, he has stepped up to the occasion. With the Pacers, he is set for more playing time once again and he will have to do more of the same, at least till Oladipo returns.
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