Is Saddiq Bey the Pacers Missing Bench Piece?

The New Orleans wing had a career year for the Pelicans last year, and should be on the Pacers trade radar.

Dec 20, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard/forward Saddiq Bey (41) dribbles against Indiana Pacers guard/forward Andrew Nembhard (2) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

There are several ways to build a championship team, but depth and versatility are two key contributors when it comes to finding role players to build around your nucleus. 

Indiana has a solid group of players already on this roster, but upgrading their second unit would make them an even stronger team in what appears to be a pretty open East next season. 

Jan 16, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard/forward Aaron Nesmith (23) shoots the ball while New Orleans Pelicans guard/forward Saddiq Bey (41) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The growth from Ben Sheppard as a shooter this past season was significant, and hopefully he is able to carry that over into 2026-27. Jarace Walker was in a similar boat, as he struggled mightily early on, but found his footing around the new year, and took strides in playing with force and maintaining a high-motor.

That being said, the Pacers could still use a scoring guard or wing off the bench to help alleviate the offensive pressure from the starting five. Adding a talented scorer, who also brings a level of physicality to the game would be the icing on the cake to help get this Pacers team back to the NBA Finals. 

The player that I believe could be that missing piece is New Orleans Pelicans 6-foot-8 small forward, Saddiq Bey. 

Saddiq Bey

Jan 16, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard/forward Saddiq Bey (41) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff (32) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Pelicans are one of the most complex teams in the NBA.

They have talented young players from the last handful of drafts (Yves Missi, Jeremiah Fears, and Derrik Queen), mixed in with veterans who are extremely overpaid (Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, and Jordan Poole), and guys entering their prime  (Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and Saddiq Bey). 

While New Orleans is figuring out what direction they want to go, the Pacers should be opportunistic and see what it would take to pry Saddiq Bey from their roster. 

Entering the final year of his deal, Bey is making a team friendly $6,557,080.00 next season and would be easily attainable for the Pacers, and at just 27-years-old, Bey fits in perfectly to the Pacers timeline. 

Offensive Breakdown 

Out of the 72 games played last season, Bey scored 20 points or more in 28 games, and shot 37.5% or greater from three in 35 games. 

Bey is a terrific catch-and-shoot floor-spacer, who also has the ability to punish smaller opponents in the post. While it’s not his strong suit, Bey can knockdown contested shots off the dribble using his quick release. 

During the 2025-26 season, Bey shot 305 shots at the rim at 61.3%, 300 from long-range three at 35.7%, 213 in the short midrange at 41.3%, 111 shots from the short three at 39.6%, and 36 from the long midrange at 25.0%. (Stats provided by Screwball.com.)

Of all the shots that Bey took this season, 42.6% of his attempts were from three and 31.6% were at the rim. These are the two primary spots Indiana loves to score from, and nearly 75% of Bey’s shots come from those areas. 

For the season, Bey averaged a career-high 17.7 points in 32.7 minutes per game. Logging that many minutes is an impressive feat considering he missed the entirety of the 2024-25 season with a torn ACL.

Defensive Breakdown

Bey is a strong, 6-foot-8 scoring wing, but is an average defender at best. 

Since entering the league, Bey has struggled to guard quicker players on the perimeter, opening up his hips too much and getting beat off the dribble. Once beaten off the dribble, he is unable to use his strength to impact the offensive player. 

That said, when he’s able to get into good defensive position by moving quickly while keeping his hips square with the offensive player, he can use his physicality to disrupt drivers and his 6-foot-11 wingspan makes shots harder to get off over him. 

Mar 26, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Daniss Jenkins (24) dribbles defended by New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey (41) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Bey is better at sliding down from his normal small forward position defensively, than defending players that are quicker and smaller than him. Similar to Mathurin, Bey struggles to navigate screens, easily getting hung up on picks, which causes the defense to switch and rotate out of their preferred matchup. 

During his time in college, Bey played for Jay Wright at Villanova and learned about the fundamentals of team defense. With a high basketball IQ, Bey is able to use his knowledge of the game and apply it to defensive schemes. 

Lastly, Bey is a strong rebounder for his size at 5.6 a game, and throughout his NBA career his defensive rating has hovered right around league average. 

Final Thoughts

Oct 22, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Saddiq Bey (41) dribbles as Memphis Grizzlies forward/center Jaren Jackson Jr. (8) defends during the fourth quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

If the Pacers can find the right trade package to acquire Bey from New Orleans, it would make perfect sense. He’s a legit offensive weapon in more ways than one, and his style of play would fit in perfectly with Indiana’s system. 

While there is more to be desired on the defensive side of things, anytime you can find a highly-skilled wing who is an average defender for under $7M a season, you do that deal without hesitation. 

The Pacers would be able to acquire Bey in multiple ways, but it might cost them one of Ben Sheppard or Jarace Walker, with some type of pick compensation. It all depends on how willing the Pelicans are to trade his expiring deal, and if they like the Pacers offer.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.