Trevor Booker Signs With Pacers
9:13pm: The signing of Booker is official, the Pacers announced on their website. “As we head into this final stretch of the season Trevor will add to the depth of our roster,” said president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard. “Not only is he a solid player and a solid team player, his character fits with our team and what we are trying to accomplish.”
MARCH 3, 2:52pm: The Pacers will not sign Trey McKinney-Jones to a second 10-day contract after his first deal expired last night, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic. The roster spot now open will almost assuredly go to Booker, who has cleared waivers, per RealGM’s official transactions log.
FEBRUARY 28: The Sixers have yet to officially announce Trevor Booker‘s release, but it sounds like Booker’s camp has already lined up the veteran forward’s next deal. According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype (Twitter link), Booker is expected to sign with the Pacers once he clears waivers. He’ll get a minimum salary contract with Indiana, tweets Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports.
As we relayed earlier this afternoon, Booker was the odd man out in Philadelphia, where the Sixers had a full 15-man roster and needed to create room to sign Ersan Ilyasova. Assuming Booker is formally waived by the 76ers today, he’ll clear waivers on Friday, and will hang onto his playoff eligibility for his new team in Indiana.
Booker, 30, had been averaging a career-low 15.0 minutes per game with the Sixers, but played well for the Nets in 89 total games in 2016 and 2017. In 24.1 MPG with Brooklyn, Booker posted 10.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 2.0 APG, shooting 51.6% from the field.
Thaddeus Young is currently the Pacers’ primary power forward, with Bojan Bogdanovic occasionally seeing time at the four in small lineups and Domantas Sabonis playing there in some bigger lineups. Indiana’s other backups at the position are youngsters like T.J. Leaf and Alex Poythress, so Booker will provide some veteran depth.
As we noted earlier today, the Pacers are one of seven teams that doesn’t technically have an open roster spot, but has a player on a 10-day contract filling their 15th slot. That player – Trey McKinney-Jones – will see his 10-day deal expire Friday night, creating an open roster spot on Saturday for Indiana.
The Pacers’ cap charge for Booker will depend on what day his deal is finalized, but if he’s signed on Saturday, it will be worth approximately $333K. The Sixers, meanwhile, will continue to carry Booker’s old $9.125MM cap hit, minus whatever amount he gave up as part of his buyout.
Poll: Who Will Make The Eastern Conference Playoffs?
The Raptors and Celtics are eight and seven games ahead, respectively, of the third-place Cavaliers, making it unlikely either team will fall below the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with only about 20 games remaining in the regular season.
Along with the top two teams in the East, the aforementioned Cavs and the Wizards and 76ers also have a 99% chance or higher of making the postseason, per FiveThirtyEight, with the remaining Eastern Conference teams’ chance of making the playoffs as follows:
- Indiana Pacers (94%)
- Miami Heat (89%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (88%)
- Charlotte Hornets (20%)
- Detroit Pistons (12%)
And despite the discrepancy in percentage between the Pacers, Heat and Bucks as compared to the Hornets and Pistons, only 7.5 games separate the five teams, with the eighth-place Heat and ninth-place Pistons only separated by three games.
Moreover, Charlotte and Detroit have the 29th and 25th hardest schedules remaining, while Indiana, Milwaukee and Miami have the 2nd, 18th and 26th hardest remaining schedules, per tankathon.com.
For their part, the Pacers still have to face the Warriors and Raptors twice each (home and away for both), in addition to one more game in Boston, while the Hornets’ toughest remaining game is in Toronto. Accordingly, the race could come down to the final days of the regular season, where the Hornets and Pacers finish off their schedules with a home-and-home on April 8 and 10.
So what do you think? Which three teams will join the other five likely contenders from the Eastern Conference? Will the Pacers, Heat, and Bucks hold on to their playoff spots or will the Hornets and/or Pistons bump one of them from the postseason? Vote below in our poll for three teams and then jump into the comment section to share your thoughts!
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
2018 Free Agent Stock Watch: Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are in an enviable position mere months after it seemed like they were doomed to a long and challenging rebuild. The breakout seasons enjoyed by Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis have helped distract from the absence of Paul George while the all-around contributions of an unheralded, cohesive veteran lineup has put Indiana firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The Pacers didn’t make a major splash at the trade deadline and were even asked specifically by players to avoid tinkering with the chemistry in the locker room. While it’s hard to argue that the franchise made the wrong call standing pat with a roster that’s punched above its weight on a nightly basis, the Pacers have a long road ahead of them before they’re considered serious challengers, even in the East.
It’s refreshing to see a team build anew without bottoming out. Solid drafting and some responsible payroll management will help them climb to the next rung on the ladder.
Cory Joseph, PG, 26 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $29.9MM contract in 2017
Joseph has thrived as the younger half of a point guard tandem charged with the task of helping the Pacers play a faster style of basketball. While he’s ceded the majority of the starts so far this season to Darren Collison, Joseph is a solid rotation piece and possible future starter. It’s likely we’ve already caught a glimpse of his ceiling, so the former Raptors probably won’t draw major money on the open market. That being said, it’s hard to imagine he couldn’t procure a raise if he turns down his 2018/19 player option worth just less than $8MM.
Glenn Robinson III, SF, 24 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $3.4MM contract in 2015
After breaking into Indy’s rotation in 2016/17, an ankle injury put Robinson III’s latest campaign on hold until after the All-Star Game. The Pacers may see some upside in the former second-round pick, and likely won’t have to outbid many competitors to retain his services should they wish to do so. Assuming the swingman’s health holds up in the final stretch of 2017/18, expect the club to lock him in for at least a few more seasons at an affordable rate. At this stage in the game, the Pacers can justify the low-risk, medium-reward lottery ticket.
Lance Stephenson, SG, 27 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $12.6MM deal in 2017
While Stephenson’s career took a turn for the worse after he flew the coop in 2014, his return to Indiana has helped restore his value as a professional basketball player. The 27-year-old may not be the irreplaceable triple-double machine the Hornets hoped he would be when they poached him from Indiana four years ago, but he’s a solid rotation piece whose contributions to the Pacers franchise are both mysterious and intangible. Expect the club to bring their enigmatic swingman back on his dirt-cheap $4.4MM team option.
Joe Young, PG, 26 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $5.1MM deal in 2015
The Pacers have never seemed particularly intent on working Young into their rotation. While you could argue that a consistently competitive squad like Indiana may be inherently reluctant to throw big minutes at an inexperienced point guard, he only topped the 20-minute plateau four times during his first two years in the league. The 25-year-old has seen an uptick in usage since Collison went down with a knee injury in early February, but the club may be better off turning down his team option and seeing what else they could do with the roster spot.
Thaddeus Young, PF, 30 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $53.9MM deal in 2015
Young has established himself as a critical component of this Pacers team and fills the role of do-everything veteran forward admirably. While the almost-30-year-old’s services would be welcomed by several other contending teams, it’s hard to imagine Young’s camp being all that confident they’d land more than $13.8MM in a bear market. If Indiana was knee deep in the turbulent rebuild many expected, it would make sense for Young to take that chance, but given that the opposite is true, I anticipate him accepting the 2018/19 player option and returning as a leader on and off the court.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Booker Will Help Pacers' Offense
- We found out earlier today that Trevor Booker plans to sign with the Pacers after his release from the Sixers is finalized. Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype opines that Booker will be a great fit with Indiana’s offense, immediately providing a new threat to score in transition and when cutting to the basket.
Update On Open NBA Roster Spots
Earlier this month, we identified the NBA teams with open roster spots. Since then, clubs have completed a flurry of 10-day signings, and a couple players have even received rest-of-season deals.
However, there are still plenty of teams around the league with openings on their respective rosters, which could come in handy with Thursday’s de facto buyout deadline around the corner. Once March 1 comes and goes, teams will have a better idea of which players will or won’t have postseason eligibility the rest of the way, creating a clearer picture for how to fill those open roster spots.
In the space below, we’ll take a closer look at teams with an open roster spot, breaking them down into three categories. Each of the clubs in the first group actually has a full 15-man roster right now, but in each instance, one of those 15 players is only a 10-day contract. With those contracts set to expire soon, it’d be very easy and inexpensive for these teams to create an opening if they need to.
Teams with full 15-man rosters who are carrying at least one player on a 10-day contract (10-day player noted in parentheses):
- Dallas Mavericks (Scotty Hopson)
- Indiana Pacers (Trey McKinney-Jones)
- New Orleans Pelicans (Walter Lemon Jr.)
- New York Knicks (Troy Williams)
- Orlando Magic (Rashad Vaughn)
- Phoenix Suns (Shaquille Harrison)
- Utah Jazz (Naz Mitrou-Long)
The next list of teams includes the clubs with one open spot on their roster and no players on 10-day contracts. These clubs each have 14 players on standard, full-season NBA deals, leaving one spot open for either a 10-day player or a rest-of-season signing.
Teams with one open roster spot:
- Charlotte Hornets
- Chicago Bulls
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Note: The Lakers will create a second opening when they officially waive Corey Brewer.
- Memphis Grizzlies
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Sacramento Kings
- Toronto Raptors
Finally, the last group of teams features four clubs that have been grouped together before. These four teams saw their roster counts slip to 13 players around the time of the trade deadline, and each had to add a player to get back up to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14. To reach that minimum, each team signed a player to a 10-day contract. That means these four franchises still only have 12 or 13 players on full-season contracts, with at least one player on a 10-day deal.
Teams with one open roster spot, plus at least one player on a 10-day contract:
- Atlanta Hawks
- Note: 12 full-season contracts, plus Antonius Cleveland and Jaylen Morris on 10-day contracts
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Marcus Thornton on 10-day contract.
- Portland Trail Blazers
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Brandon Rush on 10-day contract.
- Washington Wizards
- Note: 13 full-season contracts, plus Ramon Sessions on 10-day contract.
For roster-count details on all 30 teams, be sure to check out our roster count page, which we updated daily throughout the 2017/18 season.
Note: Roster info current as of Wednesday, February 28 at 12:00pm CT.
Anigbogu Assigned To Fort Wayne
- The Pacers have assigned rookie Ike Anigbogu to their G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the team announced via press release. Anigbogu has appeared in 10 games for Indiana so far this season, averaging 1.3 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. He has also appeared in 14 games with the Mad Ants, averaging a modest 6.6 points per contest.
Pacers Notes: Turner, Collison, GRIII, McMillan
It has been a somewhat disappointing season for third-year center Myles Turner, who was viewed as a strong candidate to have a breakout year for the Pacers following Paul George‘s offseason departure. Instead, Turner has been slowed by health issues and has seen his numbers decline in several offensive categories this year.
Still, as Jim Ayello of The Indianapolis Star details, Turner has lost the support of “exactly zero” members of the Pacers’ organization, and remains an important building block for the club’s future. Turner will be extension-eligible for the first time during the offseason.
Here’s more on the Pacers, who currently hold the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference:
- Mark Montieth of Pacers.com has an in-depth feature on Pacers point guard Darren Collison, who says he feels like he’s been underrated throughout his NBA career. Collison, who has played for five teams in nine NBA seasons, also said he’d like to stick in Indiana a while longer. “I love it here,” Collison said. “If you ask me, I would like to be here a long time. We all know how this business works. You do the best you can and hopefully this is the place. Hopefully I can help these young guys grow.”
- Currently sidelined with a knee injury, Collison will remain out of action for at least another week, tweets Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports. The Pacers will get one injured player back though, as Glenn Robinson III is ready to make his season debut after missing several months with an ankle injury. Monteith has the details at Pacers.com.
- Clifton Brown of The Indianapolis Star lays out the case for why head coach Nate McMillan deserves his share of the credit for the Pacers’ surprising success this season. “Nate’s been brilliant. Our offensive and defensive strategies this year have been terrific,” said president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard. “Without Nate, we don’t have this. We’re not talking about this. He’s overachieved, and more importantly, he’s put our players in a position where every single night they can succeed.
Pacers Sign Trey McKinney-Jones To 10-Day Deal
FEBRUARY 21: The Pacers have officially signed McKinney-Jones, the team announced today in a press release.
FEBRUARY 20: The Pacers are set to sign G League guard Trey McKinney-Jones to a 10-day contract, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Indiana currently has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for the team’s newest player.
McKinney-Jones, who went undrafted out of Miami in 2013, has bounced around since then, playing for professional teams in France, Israel, and Hungary. The 27-year-old has also had multiple G League stints, appearing in 137 total contests for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s NBAGL affiliate.
After joining the Pacers for training camp this past fall, McKinney-Jones returned to the Mad Ants for the 2017/18 season. He’s averaging a career-low 26.8 MPG and 11.4 PPG in Fort Wayne this season, but has been a more efficient shooter than ever, with a .493 FG% and .380 3PT%.
Once McKinney-Jones’ 10-day contract with the Pacers expires, the team will have the option of signing him to a second 10-day deal. After that, Indiana would have to either let him go or sign him to a rest-of-season contract.
Oladipo Knew He Could Have Breakout Season
Victor Oladipo knew a breakout season was possible after speaking with Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard on the team’s private plane prior to his introductory press conference last summer, as Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated divulges in a feature story. Pritchard assured Oladipo that the club truly coveted his services, rather than just matching up salaries to facilitate the Paul George blockbuster with the Thunder. Indiana wanted to play faster this season. “This wasn’t a dump. We targeted you,” Pritchard told Oladipo, according to Jenkins. The All-Star shooting guard is averaging a career-high 24.4 PPG for the surprising Pacers. “It was the first time in my career I felt like a team really believed in me,” Oladipo told Jenkins. “I was just thinking, Don’t mess this up.”
Pacers Notes: Oladipo, Culture, Jefferson
The Pacers have been riding a wave of overachievement in the first half led by 2018 All-Star Victor Oladipo. With the departure of Paul George — who was dealt for Oladipo — the Pacers entered the season without a franchise star and dimmed playoff hopes. Thus far, the team is in playoff position and Oladipo is happy to be the leader, ESPN’s Mike Wells writes.
Ownership’s faith in the current roster was best demonstrated when the Pacers stood pat at the deadline. No moves were made the roster was given a vote of confidence to continue its mission. And, on this mission, the leader is a player who has developed into a possible franchise mainstay.
“After what we went through with somebody who didn’t want to be here, to have someone who really wants to be here is so rewarding and refreshing,” owner Herb Simon said to ESPN. “His whole spirit brought life into the whole team and the whole organization. So we love that.”
Check out other Pacers notes below:
- General manager Kevin Pritchard was active on the phones during the deadline but a request from six Pacers players to not break up the roster swayed his opinion, NBA.com’s Mark Monteith writes. “Unless we knew we could really help the team I wanted to make sure there were no disruptions,” Pritchard said. “Our culture means everything.”
- Al Jefferson is no longer the starting center who averages a near double-double, but he has an invaluable presence as a veteran on a young, overachieving team, Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star writes. Cory Joseph vouched for Jefferson’s ability and revealed a nickname he came up with for the veteran when he was in Utah. “Instant Buckets,” Joseph said. “That pump fake? When I was in San Antonio, we played Utah in the playoffs. I’d always be on the bench like, ‘Don’t jump.'”
- In case you missed it yesterday, Hoops Rumors also caught up with Jefferson to discuss why he is happy to stay in Indiana and why the team “can do something special.”