INDIANAPOLIS — The first lesson didn't take long upon Doug McDermott's arrival to the Pacers. Even Michael Jordan should keep his distance.

McDermott is not to be toyed with in golf.

"I love to golf in the offseason. It’s a good sport to play. It gives you a different challenge," said McDermott, who has a 6 handicap.

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When the Pacers went to Miami to train with Victor Oladipo before the start of training camp, they visited Top Golf with one of their three free-agent acquisitions. It's just hitting the ball off a tee.

"These guys were just in awe and I wasn’t even hitting that hard. They were calling me Tiger Woods," McDermott said. "These guys can’t hit it off the tee. I wish we could get a full year weather of golf here."

While his new surroundings have cut into his golfing time, it has made up for it in other ways. With the Pacers, McDermott believes he has found a landing spot — his fifth NBA team in five seasons — that not only has a need for his skill set but will use him properly.

"Coaching against him, I know how he likes to play and wants to play," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "He does a great job of moving off the ball, moving without the basketball. Very similar to (Bojan Bogdanovic). He’s a catch-and-shoot guy. ... Our bigs know where he’s at on the floor and getting him open is something we want to emphasize."

This means instead of being forced to stand in a corner exclusively for catch-and-shoot 3s, McDermott will run off pindowns, curling into the lane to stretch the defense or reading their anticipation to flare to the arc for an open look. In 26 games with the Dallas Mavericks last season, he shot 49.4 percent from 3 because of that adjustment.

That led to McDermott signing a three-year, $22 million deal with the Pacers to give them another shooter in addition to Tyreke Evans to aid Oladipo.

Kyle Korver has made his career off playing the same way. At 6-7, he's an inch shorter than McDermott (and went to Creighton, too). He has the size to get off his shot and is most effective with the Cleveland Cavaliers when the defense was loading towards LeBron James with the ball. Taking away Korver was key to derailing the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals. The same held true when he played for the 60-win Atlanta Hawks in 2015.

In theory, McDermott's production should go up because he's playing with better players now than he did with the Mavs and New York Knicks last season. When he got his only bucket in the preseason opener at the Houston Rockets, McDermott made a backdoor cut while the entire defense was caught watching the ball. It wasn't a 3.

"My biggest strength is cutting and moving without the ball, whether I’m getting that ball or not. It puts a lot of pressure on the defense," McDermott said. "If you got a guy like myself who shots over 40 percent from 3, you have to have eyes on me. That’s my big thing. I like to be unselfish in that way. Korver is a guy I look up to the most. Both being Creighton guys, that’s who I study the most."

The NBA can be a humbling experience. McDermott was chosen 11th by the Denver Nuggets in 2014 and immediately traded to the Chicago Bulls. He went from being the all-time leading scorer at Creighton and consensus national player of the year to a journeyman.

“In college, I’ll admit it, I was the man. I was the 4 man. I was trailing every play, posting up," he said. "I can’t remember the last time I posted up in the NBA. I probably scored 15 points a game in college on the block. In the NBA I’ve become more of a shooter. It’s a transition. There’s great players on every team now. I've found my niche, trying to be a Korver."

In training camp, McDermott made the extra pass rather than taking the open 3. He heard from McMillan immediately.

"What do you think I want you to do there?" McMillan said.

It was a rhetorical question, of course.

"Coach McMillan really stressed to us to shoot those 3s and avoid mid-to-long 2s," McDermott said. "If we’re open, he wants us to shoot it."

That works for McDermott, who is hoping he can finally set his NBA roots in Indiana.

"It’s been a big transition coming from college when all eyes are on me. Now I’m another guy out there," he said. "I’m completely fine with that."

Teammate Kyle O'Quinn is also OK with not competing with McDermott on the links. It wouldn't be much of a contest.

"I'd leave him alone," he said. "He can really play."

Of course, McDermott's ability to play for the Pacers is more important.