- The Pacers will have their work cut out for them adapting to a new life without Paul George but it will be interesting to see whether their first year starts off promising or discouraging, Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star writes. The scribe notes that there’s a palpable enthusiasm in the team’s locker room but their will be plenty of questions to answer when the season begins.
Despite being at the roster limit, the Pacers made another move today, waiving forward Jarrod Uthoff, the team announced on its website.
Indiana signed the 24-year-old forward just before the start of camp. He appeared to have won a roster spot on Saturday when the Pacers waived three other camp invitees. The team now how 14 players on its roster, along with Alex Poythress and Edmond Sumner on two-way contracts.
Uthoff played briefly for the Mavericks last season after signing with the team in March. He appeared in nine games, averaging 4.4 points in nearly 13 minutes per night. He was traded in June to the Rockets, who waived him in late July before a $200K guarantee kicked in.
His returning rights in the G League are held by the Pacers’ affiliate in Fort Wayne, tweets Chris Reichert of 2 Ways and 10 Days, so he may be headed there if he clears waivers.
A busy Saturday on the NBA transactions wire continues, with the Pacers announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived training camp invitees DeQuan Jones, Trey McKinney-Jones, and Ben Moore.
The series of roster moves for the Pacers should set up the club for the regular season, barring any further transactions. Indiana is currently carrying the maximum 17 players — 15 on NBA contracts and two on two-way deals.
With no additional cuts necessary, two players without fully guaranteed contracts – Jarrod Uthoff and Damien Wilkins – appears poised to open the season with the Pacers.
As for the three players who are now on waivers, McKinney-Jones is a veteran of the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and seems like a good bet to return to the Pacers’ G League squad. Moore may also end up there as an affiliate player, but it’s not clear if Jones will land in Fort Wayne — he previously played for the Reno Bighorns in the G League, and I believe Reno still holds his returning rights.
OCTOBER 14: Robinson underwent successful surgery on his left ankle on Friday, the Pacers announced in a press release. According to the team, the swingman is expected to miss approximately three or four months, so he likely won’t make his season debut until 2018.
OCTOBER 11: Glenn Robinson III will undergo surgery on his left ankle and is not expected to return to the court until mid-December, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.
The 23-year-old missed the majority of training camp and preseason while nursing a high ankle sprain. He suffered the injury on September 28 and was expected to miss roughly two months. Wojnarowski adds that the need for surgery will extend his original timeline by about two to four weeks.
The Pacers consider Robinson a key member of the team’s rebuild and they plan on having him play a “prominent role” once he’s healthy, per Wojnarowski.
Robinson was drafted by the Wolves with the No. 40 overall pick in the 2014 draft. Minnesota waived him during his rookie season after just 25 games and the Sixers brought him aboard for the remainder of the 2014/15 season.
The Michigan product joined the Pacers during the 2015 offseason and he’s progressed in two seasons with the club. He’s averaging 5.2 points in 17.0 minutes per game while shooting 37.6% from downtown during his pair of campaigns in Indiana.
The Pacers have picked up the third-year option on Domantas Sabonis‘ rookie contract, locking him up for the 2018/19 season, the team announced today in a press release. The Pacers also belatedly confirmed that they’ve exercised Myles Turner‘s option, a transaction we noted back in August.
[RELATED: Decisions On 2018/19 Rookie Scale Team Options]
Sabonis, the 11th overall pick in the 2016 draft, has been part of two trades since entering the league. On draft night in 2016, the Magic sent his rights to Oklahoma City as part of a package for Serge Ibaka, and a little over a year later, the Thunder dealt him to Indiana along with Victor Oladipo in exchange for Paul George.
In his rookie season with the Thunder, Sabonis was a regular part of the club’s rotation, starting 66 of his 81 games. The 21-year-old power forward averaged 5.9 PPG and 3.6 RPG in 20.1 minutes per contest.
By exercising Sabonis’ third-year team option, the Pacers ensure that the Gonzaga product will count against their cap for $2,659,800 in 2018/19. Indiana will have to decide on Sabonis’ 2019/20 option during next year’s offseason. Assuming that option is exercised as well, the big man would become extension-eligible during the summer of 2019, and would be on track for restricted free agency in 2020.
After they traded Paul George and let Jeff Teague walk in free agency, the Pacers were overlooked for most of the rest of the NBA offseason, written off as one of the many rebuilding or tanking teams in the Eastern Conference. However, the return in the George trade – along with the rest of the Pacers’ summer moves – signal that Indiana isn’t necessarily looking to bottom out for a high lottery pick this season.
Rather than focusing on rookies or future draft picks, Indiana acquired two probable rotation players – Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis – in the trade with Oklahoma City. Then, the team went out and signed or traded for Bojan Bogdanovic, Darren Collison, and Cory Joseph in July.
Those aren’t the sort of impact moves that are going to swing the Eastern Conference this season, but adding that group of players to a core that includes Myles Turner, Thaddeus Young, Lance Stephenson, and Al Jefferson should help make the Pacers competitive in the short term.
Still, oddsmakers view the Pacers as a lottery team. Offshore betting site Bovada puts their over/under at just 31.5 wins, which would make them the 11th-best team in the East, based on Bovada’s projections. That seems about right to me — if everything breaks right for the Pacers, they could enter the playoff picture, but a spot in the middle of the lottery seems like a better bet.
What do you think? Are there still enough solid pieces in Indiana for the team to win 32 or more games, or will the losses of George and Teague send the Pacers – winners of 42 games last season – further down the Eastern standings? Vote below and jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Previous over/under voting results:
Western Conference:
- Golden State Warriors: Over 67.5 (53.57%)
- Houston Rockets: Over 55.5 (65.57%)
- San Antonio Spurs: Over 54.5 (67.74%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder: Over 50.5 (71.77%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Over 48.5 (55.69%)
- Denver Nuggets: Under 45.5 (50.44%)
- Los Angeles Clippers: Over 43.5 (60.7%)
- Portland Trail Blazers: Over 42.5 (56.3%)
- Utah Jazz: Over 41.5 (55.94%)
- New Orleans Pelicans: Over 39.5 (65.26%)
- Memphis Grizzlies: Over 37.5 (53.43%)
- Dallas Mavericks: Under 35.5 (54.95%)
- Los Angeles Lakers: Over 33.5 (50.4%)
Eastern Conference:
- Boston Celtics: Over 55.5 (63.5%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Over 53.5 (68.82%)
- Toronto Raptors: Over 48.5 (64.21%)
- Washington Wizards: Over 47.5 (71.29%)
- Milwaukee Bucks: Over 47.5 (63.88%)
- Miami Heat: Over 43.5 (55.39%)
- Charlotte Hornets: Over 42.5 (51.07%)
- Philadelphia 76ers: Under 41.5 (53.37%)
- Detroit Pistons: Over 38.5 (51.95%)
- Orlando Magic: Under 33.5 (75.24%)
- The Pacers will start Darren Collison and Victor Oladipo at guard, Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic at forward, and Myles Turner at center in their preseason opener on Wednesday, coach Nate McMillan told Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star. The surprise on the second unit, as Brown notes, is forward Damien Wilkins. The 37-year-old hasn’t played in the league since the 2012/13 season. He’s signed to a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal.
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2017 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2017/18 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Indiana Pacers.
Signings:
- Bojan Bogdanovic: Two years, $21MM. Second year partially guaranteed ($1.5MM).
- Darren Collison: Two years, $20MM. Second year partially guaranteed ($2MM).
- Edmond Sumner: Two-way contract. Two years, $50K guaranteed in each season.
- Alex Poythress: Two-way contract. Exact details not known.
Camp invitees:
- Damien Wilkins: One year, minimum salary. Partially guaranteed ($25K).
- DeQuan Jones: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10.
- Trey McKinney-Jones: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10.
- Ben Moore: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10.
- Jarrod Uthoff: One year, minimum salary. Exhibits nine and 10.
Trades:
- Acquired the draft rights to Edmond Sumner (No. 52 pick) from the Pelicans in exchange for cash ($1MM).
- Acquired Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis from the Thunder in exchange for Paul George.
- Acquired Cory Joseph from the Raptors in exchange for the draft rights to Emir Preldzic.
Draft picks:
- 1-18: T.J. Leaf — Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-47: Ike Anigbogu — Signed to three-year, $3.947MM contract. Second year partially guaranteed ($690K). Third year non-guaranteed.
- 2-52: Edmond Sumner — Signed to two-way contract.
Departing players:
- Lavoy Allen (declined team option)
- Aaron Brooks
- Rakeem Christmas (waived)
- Monta Ellis (waived)
- Paul George
- C.J. Miles
- Georges Niang (waived)
- Kevin Seraphin (waived)
- Jeff Teague
Other offseason news:
- Larry Bird stepped down as president of basketball operations. GM Kevin Pritchard promoted to replace Bird.
- Hired Hornets executive Chad Buchanan to be general manager.
- Glenn Robinson III expected to be out until November or December due to ankle injury.
- Exercised 2018/19 team option on Myles Turner.
- Lakers fined $500K for tampering with Pacers/Paul George.
Salary cap situation:
- Operating under the cap. Can create up to about $7MM in cap room (carrying approximately $92MM in guaranteed salaries). Still have room exception ($3.29MM) available.
Check out the Indiana Pacers’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
There’s no denying that, despite the good work they’ve done since, the biggest event of the Pacers’ summer was a disappointing one.
Reports in the spring indicated that 2018 free-agent-to-be Paul George had little interest in returning to Indiana, effectively forcing the team’s hand if it wanted anything in return for the outgoing star. In the wake of that news, all eyes turned to recently-appointed president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, suddenly thrust into the deep end of his new role.
While the Pacers have done an admirable job getting up off the mat and putting together a respectable squad that will make an effort to compete in the East, the club’s haul in the George trade that will be held under the microscope for years to come.
When word broke on the last day of June that Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis would be on their way to Indiana in exchange for the disgruntled All-Star, some were left underwhelmed, considering what the Celtics had supposedly been willing to offer for George. Others were simply frustrated that the Pacers were even forced into such a precarious position in the first place.
Regardless of the circumstances of the deal that brought an end to the modern-day Pacers as we know them, the only thing that matters now is how the franchise rallies after sustaining the blow.
- Glenn Robinson III will miss two months with a severely sprained ankle, but the Pacers forward is relieved it wasn’t worse, according to Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star. Robinson and his teammates were concerned that he might have ended his season when he fell hard at practice Friday. “I’m young,” said Robinson, who was in a walking boot today at practice. “Hopefully I can heal a little faster.”
The Pacers are expected to be without forward Glenn Robinson III for two months, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The 23-year-old severely sprained his left ankle during a team practice.
Prior to the injury, Robinson III had figured to factor into the team’s rotation in 2017/18 along with free agent acquisition Bojan Bogdanovic. In a career-best year last season, he played 20.7 minutes per game behind starting forward Paul George.
Despite the setback, this season could still mark a new opportunity for the son of Purdue University legend Glenn Robinson Jr. If the youngest Robinson can at least hit the ground running when he returns, he could still piece together a solid campaign from Thanksgiving Day on now that incumbent starter George has moved on to Oklahoma City.
Robinson III was a second-round pick out of Michigan in 2014 and has played for his home state Pacers since the summer of 2015.