Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jabari Parker Likely To Leave Bucks?

June 30th, 2018 at 1:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Kings are just one of the teams expected to make a run at Jabari Parker, and some executives within the league view the former No. 2 overall pick to be among the small tier of players below stars such as LeBron James and Paul George.

“Hey, he’s a good player; I mean he’s a really good player,’’ an NBA executive told Gary Woelfel (via Woelfel’s Press Box). “And he’s young.’’

Parker is a restricted free agent, meaning the Bucks can match any rival offer he receives. One longtime NBA executive expects the 23-year-old to see a rather lucrative deal.

“I think some teams will give him $20MM [per season] and there might be some teams that will make it tough on Milwaukee to match and offer him even more,’’ the NBA official tells Woelfel.

“I think Milwaukee would like to keep him for $16MM or something around that figure, trying to use his injury situation to their advantage. But there are teams that need a big-time scorer and nobody doubts he’s a big-time scorer.’’

Another NBA executive speculated that the Sixers could make an offer for Parker should they fail to land a bigger target like James, George or Kawhi Leonard. Woelfel names the Bulls, Jazz, Pacers, Hawks, Suns, and Nets as possibilities as well.

Other NBA executives who spoke with Woelfel believe a sign-and-trade is a more likely scenario for the combo forward. That route would be Milwaukee’s preference rather than being forced to decide between signing Parker to a player-friendly contract or losing him for nothing. “It’s no secret” that the Bucks would be open to receiving an upgrade at point guard or center in such an agreement, Woelfel adds.

The Rockets and Clippers are both high on Parker and could be possibilities if a sign-and-trade were to occur, though it would be hard for Houston to complete a deal and stay under the tax apron if the team retains its own key free agents. Los Angeles and Milwaukee had discussions about Parker at last year’s trade deadline.

Parker likes Milwaukee and he reportedly paid around $1.5MM to redo the warehouse he currently lives in, according to Woelfel’s sources. Those same sources tell the scribe that despite Parker being comfortable in his current situation, it’s more likely he leaves then stays.

“He loves the people there; he loves the city,” the source said. “But I don’t see him staying there. If you’re asking me, it’s 75-25 he goes to another team.’’

Many dominos, such as James coming out of his decision cave, are likely to fall before Parker inks his next contract with a source estimating that a deal won’t take place until late-July or early-August.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Pacers To Guarantee Bojan Bogdanovic’s Salary

June 29th, 2018 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

JUNE 29: The Pacers are guaranteeing Bogdanovic’s $10.5MM salary for the 2018/19 season, league sources confirm to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Today was the deadline for Indiana to waive Bogdanovic in order to avoid that guarantee.

JUNE 24: The Pacers plan to retain veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic through his salary guarantee date later this week, a source familiar with the team’s plans tells Ben Gibson of 8Points9Seconds.com.

Having signed a two-year deal with Indiana last summer, Bogdanovic is under contract for the 2018/19 season, but his $10.5MM salary is currently only partially guaranteed for $1.5MM. The club could clear $9MM from its books for next season by waiving him before June 29, but apparently has no plans to do so.

The Pacers’ intentions for Bogdanovic come as no surprise, since the former second-round pick excelled during his first season with the team, setting new career highs in PPG (14.3), FG% (.474), and 3PT% (.402), among other categories. Bogdanovic started 80 regular season games for Indiana, and the club would be comfortable keeping the 29-year-old in the starting lineup entering the 2018/19 campaign, Gibson writes.

Bogdanovic’s contract is structured similar to Darren Collison‘s, and the Pacers reportedly plan on guaranteeing the point guard’s 2018/19 salary as well. Keeping both players on the roster will reduce Indiana’s potential cap room this July, but the team should still have a good amount cap flexibility.

Even if Bogdanovic’s and Collison’s salaries become fully guaranteed and Thaddeus Young‘s player option is exercised, the Pacers’ guaranteed salaries for 2018/19 would only total about $78.6MM. The club also barely has any guaranteed money on its 2019/20 cap.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacers Decline Team Option On Joe Young

June 29th, 2018 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have decided not to exercise Joe Young‘s option for the 2018/19 season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The move ensures that Young will become a free agent on July 1.

Indiana could technically still issue a qualifying offer to Young to make him a restricted free agent, but that seems unlikely. Assuming today’s deadline passes with no qualifying offer from the Pacers, the 26-year-old will be unrestricted on Sunday.

Young, who spent three seasons in Indiana, appeared in 127 total games for the club, but never played major minutes, averaging only 8.5 MPG. In 2017/18, he averaged 3.9 PPG and 1.2 RPG in 10.5 MPG, with a .430/.379/.759 shooting line.

The Pacers are one of the only NBA playoff teams projected to have cap room this offseason. Having been linked to a handful of free agent targets, Indiana will now have a little more flexibility to make offers with Young off the books for 2018/19.

Oladipo Talks Pacers' Free Agency Outlook

June 29th, 2018 at 10:38am CST by Luke Adams

Victor Oladipo is bullish on the Pacers‘ outlook and sounds like he’d be willing to get involved in recruiting free agents to Indiana, writes Clifton Brown of The Indianapolis Star. However, Oladipo doesn’t expect to be involved in the front office’s decision-making process. “If they ask me, I guess I’ll give them my input,” Oladipo said with a smile. “But for the most part, I just focus on getting better.”

Pacers Among Suitors For Jerami Grant?

June 29th, 2018 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

The Bulls, Pacers, and Magic are among the teams expected to push the Thunder for free agent forward Jerami Grant, a source tells Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Grant emerged as a key bench piece for Oklahoma City in 2017/18, averaging 8.4 PPG and 3.9 RPG with a .535 FG%. However, the Thunder may be hard-pressed to retain him if Paul George returns, since the club would be well over the tax line, making a competitive offer for Grant worth exponentially more expensive due to potential tax penalties.

Lowe’s Latest: James, Thunder, RFAs

June 28th, 2018 at 7:56pm CST by Austin Kent

The Lakers may not necessarily need a star in place to lure LeBron James, Zach Lowe of ESPN writes in a massive round-up of free agency notes. If James were to sign in Los Angeles alongside the team’s existing young stars and plethora of cap space they’d immediately become one of the league’s most appealing destinations for the next 12 months.

The comment comes in response to the notion that the Lakers are growing desperate to acquire Kawhi Leonard from the Spurs prior to James’ opt-in deadline tomorrow at 10:59pm CST. As things stand, both the Celtics and Sixers appear poised to offer better packages than what Lowe speculates L.A. might.

The King’s decision will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league, especially the Eastern Conference. If the Raptors, for example, were to watch James head to the West, it would make keeping their current core in place more appealing considering that their path to the Finals would be hypothetically easier.

Here’s a taste of the rest of Lowe’s findings:

If the Thunder can convince Paul George to return to Oklahoma City, it will be a monumental victory for general manager Sam Presti. If he leaves, the club would be forced to at least think about blowing the current squad up and trading Russell Westbrook.
Only six teams have notable amounts of potential cap space and half of those – the Hawks, Bulls and Kings – are telling teams that they’re interested in using that space to absorb bad contracts and pick up assets.
It’s unclear that there will be much of a market for Derrick Favors beyond, potentially the Mavs. It may make more sense for the big man to stay with the Jazz after finally starting to click alongside Rudy Gobert in Quin Snyder‘s offense last season.
The two best candidates to sign a qualifying offer this summer and approach next summer as unrestricted free agents are Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Trail Blazers center Jusuf Nurkic. Lowe writes that Nurkic turned down a “rich” four-year extension last fall but might have a hard time finding a team willing to offer more than the mid-level exception this summer.
It stands to reason that Aaron Gordon, Zach LaVine and Jabari Parker will yield significant offers from the Magic, Bulls and Bucks respectively but none of those teams have reason to offer a max contract right away.
The Pacers could make life harder for the Magic by putting together an offer in the $20MM range for Gordon. Lowe writes that there has been “mild discontent for years” about Gordon’s role in Orlando’s offense.
The Nuggets tried “feverishly” to trade for a second first-round pick last Thursday in the hopes of nabbing Zhaire Smith. Denver’s 2019 first-rounder was on the table in those talks.

For more free agency notes, including some potential contract extension candidates and the reasoning behind Nikola Jokic not getting a player option in the fifth year of his new deal with the Nuggets, check out the full feature at ESPN.

Thaddeus Young Exercises Player Option

June 28th, 2018 at 4:36pm CST by clarkcrum

Pacers’ forward Thaddeus Young has exercised his $13.7MM player option and will bypass free agency this summer, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Young, 30, strongly considered becoming a free agent this offseason, but given the lack of cap space around the NBA, is opting to remain in Indiana for at least another season after averaging 11.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in 81 contests during the 2017/18 campaign.

The Pacers, who could still enter free agency with as much as $20MM in salary cap space, were reported earlier today to have interest in restricted free agent Aaron Gordon. However, Gordon is apparently seeking the maximum salary, so the Pacers likely won’t have the cap space to accommodate the type of offer Gordon is seeking absent a roster move or two.

After Young’s decision, the top-remaining player option decisions now belong to LeBron James, Kevin Durant, DeAndre Jordan, and Enes Kanter. Those four players have until tomorrow to make a decision.

Pacers Eyeing Aaron Gordon As Potential Target

June 28th, 2018 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers project have a chunk of cap room available this summer, and one player the team has its eye on is Magic power forward Aaron Gordon, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Gordon, 22, received a qualifying offer from the Magic earlier this week, ensuring that he’ll become a restricted free agent on Sunday. That move gives Orlando the right of first refusal on Gordon, so if the Pacers signed the young forward to a lucrative offer sheet, the Magic would have the opportunity to match it.

In comments to reporters, Gordon has suggested he’ll be seeking a maximum-salary contract this offseason, though he has also said that he’d like to remain in Orlando. For their part, the Magic have said they’re “hopeful” of reaching an agreement with Gordon. However, an offer from a team with significant cap room like the Pacers could present an interesting decision for the Magic.

It’s not clear yet exactly how much space Indiana will have available once the new league year begins, since the team has several non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts on its books, and Thaddeus Young still has a player-option decision to make. However, the club should be able to clear $20MM+ without sacrificing important pieces.

Gordon enjoyed a career year for the Magic in 2017/18, averaging 17.6 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 58 games. He’d be an interesting long-term fit in Indiana, where the Pacers have two young centers – Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis – in their frontcourt along with the veteran Young.

Return To Pacers Still Possible For Stephenson

June 26th, 2018 at 3:17pm CST by Luke Adams

After declining Lance Stephenson‘s team option, the Pacers could still bring him back later in free agency. However, league sources tell Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com (Twitter link) not to rule out the Bulls as a potential suitor for Stephenson.
Frank Urbina of HoopsHype.com identifies a few potential landing spots for Cavaliers guard Rodney Hood, suggesting the Heat, Pacers, and Bulls could be decent fits for the restricted free agent.

Victor Oladipo Captures Most Improved Award

June 25th, 2018 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers guard Victor Oladipo was named the league’s Most Improved Player award, it was announced during the NBA’s annual awards broadcast.

He beat out Rockets center Clint Capela and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, as expected. Oladipo blossomed into a star after getting dealt by the Thunder in the Paul George blockbuster.

Oladipo averaged 23.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 5.2 APG while leading the Pacers to the playoffs, where they pushed the Cavaliers to the brink before succumbing in seven games. He also shot a career-best 47.7% from the field and 37.1% from 3-point range.

Oladipo had never averaged more than 17.9 PPG in his previous four seasons.