Age: 28
Years pro: 7
Status: Unrestricted free agent.
Key stats: Averaged 8.9 points and 6.1 rebounds while playing 20 ½ minutes per game. Started 11 of the 73 games in which he played.
Jordan Hill made a lot of contributions to the Pacers over the course of the regular season, probably more than most fans expected. Then he disappeared in the playoffs, more so than most fans expected.
Hill was signed to a one-year, $4 million contract in the off-season, essentially replacing Luis Scola at the power forward position. His production turned out to be similar to Scola's from the previous season, – 8.9 points on 51 percent shooting and 6.1 rebounds in 20 ½ minutes per game.
He was particularly effective in his 11 games as a starter, averaging 10.7 points on 51 percent shooting and 7.1 rebounds. Those numbers would have been even better if not for one horrific performance in a start at Cleveland, in which he hit 3-of-15 field goal attempts.
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Hill's best moments came after Myles Turner was injected into the starting lineup and Ian Mahinmi had to sit out with an injury. Starting against Denver, he finished with 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting and six blocked shots. He came back the next game against Cleveland and scored 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He started two more games, then went back to the bench when Mahinmi returned. He played well more often than not.
Hill faded fast, though, after coach Frank Vogel restructured his lineup following the 20-point homecourt loss to Orlando on March 31, with seven games left in the regular season. Lavoy Allen was returned to the starting lineup, Myles Turner returned to the reserves and Ty Lawson was made the point guard in a smaller unit designed to play a spread, uptempo style.
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Remember what it felt like to be left standing off to the side when the music stopped in games of musical chairs? That was Hill. Vogel couldn't very well go beyond a 10-player rotation, and Hill was the one left out.
He was barely heard from again. He sat the next two games, played nine minutes and scored six points in the next one, sat three more games, then played 30 minutes in the final regular season game at Milwaukee. He hit just 1-of-9 shots in 30 minutes, but grabbed 11 rebounds.
He was scoreless in the playoff series with Toronto, appearing for a total of 15 minutes in five of the games. By then his lighthearted attitude seemed to be to his detriment.
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New coach Nate McMillan's thoughts on Hill aren't yet known, but he still seems the least likely of the Pacers' free agents to be re-signed.
He was the Pacers' best low-post threat, really the only player on the roster with effective scoring moves around the basket. He could hit mid-range jump shots, too, and was a decent rebounder. But he's a bit of a tweener, an unorthodox player with an unorthodox personality. That makes the future unclear for this former lottery pick.
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