Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Rumors: Joseph, Seraphin, Final Roster Spot

July 17th, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have already expressed their desire to re-sign Cory Joseph to a long-term deal, Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star reports. Indiana reached an agreement to acquire Joseph from the Raptors in a sign-and-trade swap involving swingman C.J. Miles. Joseph will make $7.63MM next season and can opt out of the final year of his contract next summer, which would leave $7.95MM on table. ‘The great thing is we were able to obtain him and now we’ll start the relationship,” team president Kevin Pritchard said. “We want to reset our culture. … We’ll have the opportunity to early renegotiate as well.” The team believes Joseph can be the long-term solution at point guard, though the team also signed Darren Collison as a free agent, Taylor adds. Joseph averaged 12.2 points and five assists in 22 games when Kyle Lowry was injured last season.

Pritchard indicated the Pacers have 14 guaranteed contracts, which apparently means they will guaranteed Kevin Seraphin‘s contract for next season, Taylor tweets. The team has until Aug. 1st to decide whether to guarantee Seraphin’s $1,974,159 salary. The power forward appeared in 49 games with Indiana last season, averaging 4.7 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 11.4 MPG.
Pritchard hinted that three players will compete for the 15th and last roster spot, Taylor reports in a separate tweet. Pritchard said there would be 17 players on the training camp roster and the final spot would be determined in camp.
Joseph is focused on improving his 3-point shooting, according to Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. He made 35.6% of his long-range attempts last season but his career average is 31.7%. “I’m working on it every day,” he told Montieth. “Right now, that’s my next step, to get that better. I’ll continue to work on it and get better at it.”

Pacers Waive Georges Niang

July 14th, 2017 at 5:25pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Pacers have officially waived 6’8″ forward Georges Niang, according to Adrian Wojnarowksi of ESPN (via Twitter).

The Iowa State product and 50th overall pick in last year’s draft appeared in 23 games with Indiana last season and averaged just 0.9 PPG and 0.7 RPG.

The 24-year-old’s $1.3MM salary for 2017/18 season would have become guaranteed tomorrow if the Pacers kept him on the roster, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks mentioned. Instead, the Pacers will incur a $100,000 cap hit and their room will increase to $5.7MM. Additionally, Marks added that Indiana now has 13 guaranteed contracts for 2017/18, including second round pick Ike Anigbogu.

Raptors, Pacers Finalize Cory Joseph Trade

July 14th, 2017 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have officially sent Cory Joseph to the Pacers in a trade, the team announced today in a press release. In exchange for Joseph, Toronto acquired the draft rights to forward Emir Preldzic.

“We are very excited to acquire Cory,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in his team’s announcement of the trade. “He has been on our radar for a while. With Darren Collison and Cory we have two solid, veteran point guards who fit our culture of playing hard and unselfish.”

Joseph was previously reported to be part of a swap that would send Miles to the Raptors in a sign-and-trade. However, Miles’ three-year contract was set to include a player option, and the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits third-year options on contracts completed in sign-and-trade deals.

As such, the Raptors will trade Joseph and sign Miles in separate transactions. Toronto will sign Miles using the mid-level exception, which starts at $8.406MM. By splitting up the transactions, the Raptors will no longer be able to retain that MLE for another signing, but they’ll pick up another traded player exception instead. After getting a $11.8MM TPE in their DeMarre Carroll deal with the Nets, the Raptors will create a trade exception worth Joseph’s salary ($7.63MM) in today’s swap.

Moving Joseph to Indiana before signing Miles will help the Raptors stay out of luxury tax territory for now. Joseph, who turns 26 next month, played in 80 games for the Raptors last season, averaging 9.3 PPG and 3.3 APG. He’ll team with the newly-signed Collison as Indiana looks to replace Jeff Teague at the point guard position.

Joseph’s contract includes a player option worth $7.945MM for 2018/19, so he could hit the free agent market a year from now if he has a solid season with the Pacers.

As for Preldzic, the 29-year-old forward was the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft and has remained overseas since then. At this point, he seems unlikely to make the jump stateside, so his NBA rights were likely just included in the deal because each team has to send out something in a trade. This is the fourth time Preldzic’s rights have been traded since he was drafted.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Pacers Offered Paul George To Warriors For Klay Thompson

July 13th, 2017 at 7:59pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Before the Pacers dealt Paul George to the Thunder, the team was interested in shipping George to the Warriors, offering him in a deal for Klay Thompson, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com shares on his podcast. George, who appeared on The Woj Pod, told the scribe that he was aware of the team’s offer.

“I would’ve looked forward to it, of just being in a good situation and a chance to compete for a championship. But it didn’t happen. It’s still fun to team up with a special talent and have a chance to compete against that team,” George said.

The four-time All-Star added that had a deal materialized, it would have been similar to the 2011 Chris Paul-to-the-Lakers deal that was ultimately shot down by the league.

Indiana ended up sending George to the Thunder to play alongside Russell Westbrook. The franchise received Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in the deal.

Pacers Sign Second-Rounder Ike Anigbogu

July 12th, 2017 at 1:54pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have signed rookie big man Ike Anigbogu to his first NBA contract, the team announced today in a press release. Anigbogu first broke the news himself, posting a photo on Instagram that showed him putting pen to paper and confirming that he had “made it official.”

[RELATED: 2017 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

Anigbogu, 18, entered the draft this spring after just one season at UCLA. Many draft experts are high on the young center’s potential, with Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress ranking him 15th on his big board.

However, Anigbogu didn’t play much during his lone season with the Bruins (4.7 PPG and 4.0 RPG in 13.0 MPG) and is viewed as a very raw prospect. Health concerns also surround Anigbogu, with questions about his knee likely contributing to his fall on draft night. The Pacers ultimately selected the rookie with the 47th overall pick in the draft.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Indiana has the cap room necessary to sign Anigbogu to a deal longer than two years and worth more than the minimum, if the team so chooses. For comparison’s sake, the Pacers’ second-round pick in 2016 – Georges Niang – received a three-year contract worth slightly more than the minimum — it was fully guaranteed for one year with a small partial guarantee in year two. Niang was the 50th overall pick.

Pacers Sign Bojan Bogdanovic

July 10th, 2017 at 10:48pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 10th, 10:48pm: Bogdanovic has officially signed with the team, according to a Pacers press release.

JULY 7th, 1:48pm: The Pacers have agreed to sign Bojan Bogdanovic to a two-year, $21MM contract with a partial guarantee in year two, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The news comes right on the heels of a report that the Wizards pulled Bogdanovic’s qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Bogdanovic, 28, enjoyed the best season of his NBA career in 2016/17, starting 54 games for the Nets before being sent to the Wizards at the trade deadline. For the season, the 6’8″ swingman averaged 13.7 PPG and 3.4 RPG, with a .445/.367/.893 shooting line. He also chipped in 8.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG in 13 playoff games for Washington.

After receiving a qualifying offer from the Wizards, Bogdanovic entered July as a restricted free agent. However, Washington’s priority was to retain Otto Porter, and the team is now poised to match an offer sheet for Porter from the Nets. That put Bogdanovic out of the Wizards’ price range, particularly after the club agreed to sign a lower-cost replacement in Jodie Meeks.

Reports earlier in free agency pegged Bogdanovic’s asking price at $16MM per year over three or four seasons, which might have been attainable last summer, but was never realistic in this year’s market. The Pacers will get him at a $10.5MM annual salary, and will have an out for the second year if things don’t work out in Indiana in 2017/18. The new-look Pacers likely envision Bogdanovic as a replacement for C.J. Miles, who remains on the free agent market.

The Pacers will use cap room to sign Bogdanovic, and won’t have a whole lot of space left after also having signed Darren Collison to a deal that looks similar to Bogdanovic’s. Based on my rough calculations, Indiana’s team salary will be at around $94MM after officially adding Bogdanovic.

Finally, it’s worth noting that Bojan Bogdanovic is not the same player as Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has agreed to a three-year deal with the Kings.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Rumors: Dedmon, Teague, Timberwolves, Heat

July 10th, 2017 at 9:54pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hawks are interested in free agent center Dewayne Dedmon, Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders tweets. They are also looking at Willie Reed, Scotto passes along in the same tweet via Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. The Nets and Celtics have also been mentioned as possibilities for Dedmon, who played for the Spurs last season. Reed, who played for the Heat last season, met with the Clippers on Friday and has drawn interest from several other clubs.

In other developments involving free agency:

The Kings and Nuggets along with his former team, the Pacers, were interested in Jeff Teague before he signed with the Timberwolves, Darren Wolfson of KSTP-TV tweets via his colleague Joe Schmit. The Kings wound up signing point guard George Hill, while the Nuggets spent most of their free agent money on power forward Paul Millsap. Teague signed a three-year, $57MM deal with Minnesota.
Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau is still shopping for two wings and a point guard to upgrade their bench, Wolfson notes in a separate tweet. However, Thibodeau has likely filled one of those wing spots with Jamal Crawford, who agreed to a two-year contract after negotiating a buyout agreement with the Hawks and being placed on waivers. Crawford has cleared waivers and is expected to sign sometime this week, Chris Haynes of ESPN tweets.
The Heat are in discussions with forwards Luke Babbitt and Udonis Haslem, according to an Associated Press report. Those deals, if completed, would likely be veteran minimum, the report adds. Babbitt appeared in 68 games, including 55 starts, for the injury-depleted Heat last season. Haslem saw action in just 16 games.

NBA Teams With Cap Room Remaining

July 10th, 2017 at 11:08am CST by Luke Adams

We’re only on the 10th day of the NBA league year, but already, the number of teams with cap room still available is dwindling.

Clubs without cap room remaining could create space at some point — the Knicks, for instance, used the last of their cap room to finalize Tim Hardaway‘s offer sheet, but may try to clear salary by trading Carmelo Anthony and/or Courtney Lee. For now though, only a handful of teams have a useful amount of cap space left.

Those teams with cap room are listed below, along with an informal breakdown of what their situation looks like. Many deals haven’t yet been finalized, so these figures our based on our projections, with the help of information from Basketball Insiders and HeatHoops.

Teams with cap room remaining:

Atlanta Hawks: With agreed-upon deals for Mike Muscala and Tyler Dorsey not yet official, the Hawks retain about $18-19MM in cap room. And that’s not counting whatever amount of money Jamal Crawford was willing to give up in his buyout, so that figure may creep a little higher.
Brooklyn Nets: The Nets remain in a holding pattern with Otto Porter, but after he officially moves over to the Wizards’ books and Brooklyn completes its trade for DeMarre Carroll, the team should have about $16-17MM in cap room. The Nets could create a little more space by waiving one or more non-guaranteed players.
Denver Nuggets: Once the Nuggets’ signing of Paul Millsap becomes official, the team won’t have much cap flexibility left, though that could change if Mike Miller is waived and/or Mason Plumlee is renounced. If both of those players remain on the cap, Denver will only have about $2MM in room. If they move on from both players, the Nuggets could get up to about $11MM+ in space.
Indiana Pacers: Assuming the Pacers stretch Monta Ellis‘ salary, as has been reported, they should have in the neighborhood of $7-8MM in remaining cap room, even after finalizing the acquisitions of Darren Collison, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Cory Joseph.
Los Angeles Lakers: The Lakers have approximately $17MM in cap room left, though they’d have to renounce their remaining unrestricted free agents to make use of all that space.
Orlando Magic: The Magic could have retained their exceptions and cap holds and stayed over the cap, but it looks like they’re operating under the cap, signing Shelvin Mack with room instead of the mid-level exception. Orlando doesn’t have much space available, but could get up to $8MM+ in room by waiving C.J. Watson, and could increase that number a little more by cutting other non-guaranteed players.
Philadelphia 76ers: The Sixers’ remaining cap room will depend on the exact numbers for J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson, but it figures to be in the neighborhood of $16-17MM.
Phoenix Suns: Alex Len‘s $12MM+ cap hold is a significant factor in the Suns’ remaining cap room. If they were to renounce Len, the Suns could get up to about $23MM in room, with the ability to create even more by waiving non-guaranteed contracts. However, if they keep Len on the books, Phoenix’s cap room is below $11MM, and will be reduced further when Alan Williams‘ new deal becomes official.
Sacramento Kings: Deals for George Hill, Zach Randolph, Vince Carter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic will use up most of the Kings’ space, but the team should still have room in the $8-10MM range after those signings become official.

Teams that went under the cap, but have used all (or virtually all) of their room:

Boston Celtics
Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks

These teams went below the cap this summer to accommodate big-money moves. In some cases, those deals aren’t yet official, but when they’re finalized, they’ll eliminate any cap room these teams have left. A couple of these clubs have already committed their room exception to certain players, with the Celtics on track to sign Aron Baynes and the Wolves lining up a deal with Jamal Crawford.

Teams that are operating over the cap, but could create some cap room:

Chicago Bulls
Dallas Mavericks
Utah Jazz

These teams are currently operating as over-the-cap clubs in order to retain their full mid-level, bi-annual, and trade exceptions, but there could be scenarios in which it makes more sense to renounce those exceptions and dip below the cap.

In the Bulls’ and Mavs’ cases, it would likely only happen if they don’t retain top RFAs (Nikola Mirotic and Nerlens Noel, respectively). Meanwhile, the Jazz could only create up to about $12MM in room if they were to waive their non-guaranteed contracts and wait to sign Joe Ingles.

Note: Items on Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic were edited after publication to adjust figures.

C.J. Miles Headed To Toronto In Sign-And-Trade

July 9th, 2017 at 12:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers and Raptors have agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that will send free agent C.J. Miles to Toronto, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. Miles will sign a three-year deal with the Raptors worth about $25MM that contains a player option for the final season.

The trade cannot be completed until Toronto moves some salary by sending DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn, Wojnarowski notes (Twitter link). That deal is contingent on the Wizards matching the Nets’ offer sheet to Otto Porter, which they have announced they will do. However, provisions for Porter’s physical could delay the matching process to as late as Wednesday.

The Miles trade will send point guard Cory Joseph to Indiana in return, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Joseph, who turns 26 next month, played in 80 games for the Raptors last season, averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 assists, mostly as a combo guard off the bench. He will make $7.66MM next season and has a player option worth $8MM for 2018/19. He’ll team with newly-signed Darren Collison as Indiana looks to replace Jeff Teague at the point guard position.

Miles, a 30-year-old swingman, will serve as a replacement for Carroll and provide Toronto with some additional outside shooting. A 12-year veteran, Miles is coming off another productive season — in 76 games, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.0 rebounds, and shot a career-best 41.3% on three-pointers. He will be getting a raise from the $4.58MM he made last season.

The Raptors will be hard-capped at $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year as a result of acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade deal, and may also have to rely on a pair of youngsters – Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet – as the backup point guards behind Kyle Lowry.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Darren Collison Contract Details

July 8th, 2017 at 8:48am CST by Luke Adams

The second year of Darren Collison‘s contract with the Pacers is only partially guaranteed. Currently, $2MM of his $10MM second-year salary is guaranteed (Twitter link).