Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Salary Guarantees To Watch This Weekend

July 29th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, the Pacers announced that they’d parted ways with Shayne Whittington, placing the big man on waivers. The timing of the move seemed odd at first glance, but it made sense when considering the language in Whittington’s contract — his full salary for the 2016/17 season would have become guaranteed if he’d remained on Indiana’s roster beyond August 1.

As our list of upcoming salary guarantee deadlines shows, Whittington isn’t the only player who will either make some money or lose his roster spot within the next few days. Six other players will have some or all of their ’16/17 salary guaranteed if they remain on their respective teams’ rosters beyond August 1.

Here’s a closer look:

Jonathon Simmons (Spurs): Full $874,636 salary to become guaranteed
- Simmons’ guarantee date is actually on Saturday, rather than Monday, but it shouldn’t make much of a difference. After averaging about 15 minutes per game in 55 regular-season contests for the Spurs in his rookie season, Simmons may be in line for a bigger role in 2016/17, as we heard earlier this month.
Michael Beasley (Rockets): Full $1,403,611 salary to become guaranteed
- Beasley, who played the role of mentor for the Rockets during Summer League action, will be kept beyond his guarantee date, according to a Houston Chronicle report from early July.
Dahntay Jones (Cavaliers): Full $1,551,659 salary to become guaranteed
- Jones appeared in 15 playoff games for the NBA champions in the spring, but his most memorable moment may have involved earning a one-game suspension for hitting Bismack Biyombo in the groin. There has been no indication yet whether the Cavs, who will likely be back in tax territory in 2016/17, intend to keep Jones — he’s a candidate to be cut.
Rodney McGruder (Heat): $150,000 of $543,471 salary to become guaranteed
- The Heat just signed McGruder about three weeks ago, so it seems unlikely they’d waive him already, especially since only a small portion of his 2016/17 salary will become guaranteed on Monday.
Josh Richardson (Heat): Full $874,636 salary to become guaranteed
- In the wake of Dwyane Wade‘s departure, the Heat will be going younger this season, and Richardson figures to be a big part of that youth movement. He’s not going anywhere.
Glenn Robinson III (Pacers): Full $1,050,500 salary to become guaranteed
- When the Pacers announced Whittington’s release without cutting Robinson as well, it was a sign that the former Wolverine should be safe. Assuming that’s the case, he’s a good bet to earn a regular-season roster spot for Indiana.

Pacers Waive Shayne Whittington

July 29th, 2016 at 11:26am CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers have waived big man Shayne Whittington, the team announced today in a press release. The move allows the team to avoid paying Whittington’s $980,431 salary for the 2016/17 season, which would have become fully guaranteed if he remained on the roster beyond August 1.

Whittington, 25, has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Pacers, going back forth between Indiana and Fort Wayne, where the team’s D-League affiliate plays. During that time, the Western Michigan alum has appeared in 27 total NBA games, averaging a modest 2.5 PPG and 1.5 RPG in 5.5 minutes per contest.

With Whittington no longer in the mix, the Pacers have reduced their roster to 15 players, the regular-season limit. Of those 15 players, 14 have guaranteed salaries, while Glenn Robinson III also has an August 1 guarantee deadline. Assuming Robinson sticks around past Monday, he and his 14 teammates look like they’ll make up Indiana’s opening-night roster, though teams can carry up to 20 players in the offseason, so the Pacers figure to add a few more players for training camp in the coming weeks.

As for Whittington, he still has a chance to earn his full salary on his current contract if he’s claimed off waivers. However, it’s more likely that he’ll hit the open market. A non-guaranteed or partially-guaranteed contract with an NBA team – perhaps even Indiana – is one option, though he could also decide to explore overseas opportunities.

And-Ones: Cap Room, L. Sanders, R. Smith, RFAs

July 27th, 2016 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

The Sixers, Nuggets, Nets, Thunder, and Lakers have the most cap room still available, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details. In addition to those five clubs, the Timberwolves, Suns, Jazz, Celtics, Pacers, and Bucks also have some wiggle room remaining. While some of those clubs could use that cap space to try to sign a free agent like J.R. Smith or Lance Stephenson, I’d expect many of those teams to stay well below the cap throughout the year. Remaining $10-15MM below the cap would allow a team to accommodate a mid-season salary dump, potentially picking up a draft pick or two in the process.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

Larry Sanders, who has been working out and is considering an NBA comeback, may be willing to play for a minumum-salary contract, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). It remains to be seen whether a team will take a flier on the former Bucks big man.
Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders identifies a few players who will be under pressure to perform in 2016/17 due to big new free agent contracts or roles that changed as a result of other players’ deperatures.
Former Louisville guard Russ Smith, who appeared in 15 games for the Grizzlies last season, has accepted a $1MM contract offer from Galatasaray, according to international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter). Mete Budak of Eurohoops pegs the former second-round pick’s salary at $850K, so the Turkish team may have included some bonuses in the deal.
Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders explains why he thinks the NBA’s restricted free agency system has problems, and puts forth some suggestions to potentially improve it. Donatas Motiejunas of the Rockets is the only RFA still on the market this summer.

Eastern Notes: Ainge, Kuzminskas, George, Scola

July 24th, 2016 at 8:07pm CST by Arthur Hill

President of basketball operations Danny Ainge was able to quickly rebuild the Celtics by maximizing the return for his stars when the team got too old, writes Moke Hamilton of Basketball Insiders. Ainge sent Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the Nets for a package of draft picks and traded Rajon Rondo to the Mavericks instead of letting him become a free agent. This summer’s signing of Al Horford accelerated the building process, and Hamilton believes it makes the Celtics legitimate contenders in the East. Boston is also set up well for the future, with only Horford, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas under contract for 2017/18. Even if the Celtics pick up their team option on Marcus Smart, they may have more than $50MM to spend on free agents next July.

There’s more out of the Eastern Conference:

Mindaugas Kuzminskas provides enough offense to become a rotation player for the Knicks, according to Trevor Magnotti of Upside and Motor. The 6’9″ Lithuanian forward signed with New York earlier this month after playing in Europe for the past five seasons. Knicks president Phil Jackson said the team wanted to find a mobile small forward who could shoot from distance. That describes Kuzminskas, who gets most of his points on cuts to the basket, but is also a streaky shooter from 3-point range. However, there are questions about his defense, which Magnotti warns might limit his playing time until he proves he can contribute on that end.
Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski says Paul George is playing the best basketball of his life two years after the broken leg that had many concerned about his career, writes Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. The Pacers‘ star, who had 18 points in Friday’s exhibition win over Argentina, said he had to put that scary incident out of his mind to be effective again. “It’s behind me,” George said. “I don’t play the game expecting to get hurt. I know it’s a possibility. But there’s no thought in my mind I’m going to get hurt. I play this game because I love it. I just play hard.”
Newly signed Nets power forward Luis Scola will be Argentina’s flag bearer at the Summer Olympics, according to the Associated Press. “I had the chance to play four Olympics, to play 10 years in the NBA, to carry the flag for my country, win an Olympic gold medal,’’ Scola said. “I mean, different things that happened along those days that I couldn’t even dream of those because it would be too wild to dream.”

Pacers Looking At Thomas Robinson?

July 22nd, 2016 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

After opting out of his contract with the Nets last month, Thomas Robinson has drawn interest from the Pacers, Suns, and Hawks, league sources tell Amico. Robinson’s player option for 2016/17 was worth the minimum, so if he can land a guaranteed offer, it won’t have been a mistake to turn down that option.

Pacers Sign Aaron Brooks

July 21st, 2016 at 9:43am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 21ST: The deal is official, the team announced via Twitter.

JULY 18TH: More than a week after reporting that the Pacers and Aaron Brooks were in “advanced discussions” on a one-year contract, Shams Charania of The Vertical tweets that the two sides have reached an agreement. According to Charania, it’ll be a one-year, $2.5MM deal for Brooks in Indiana.

A well-traveled NBA veteran, Brooks will be joining his sixth team, having already spent time with the Rockets, Suns, Kings, Nuggets, and Bulls. Most recently, the 31-year-old played 69 games for Chicago last season, averaging 7.1 PPG and 2.6 APG in a backup role.

In Indiana, Brooks will be a part of a revamped point guard depth chart, with Jeff Teague expected to be the starter. The Pacers acquired Teague in a three-way trade earlier this month that sent George Hill to the Jazz, and they don’t appear anxious to re-sign last season’s backup, Ty Lawson.

Despite an active offseason that has seen the club acquire Thaddeus Young and sign Al Jefferson, the Pacers remain under the cap, so they should be able to finalize the signing of Brooks using cap room, rather than any sort of exception.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Bird Rebuilds Roster; Lawson Hoping To Bounce Back

July 20th, 2016 at 6:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ty Lawson feels “overlooked” in free agency and tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated the team that signs him is going to get a significant bargain. Lawson says he never really felt comfortable with the Rockets or Pacers last season after being traded away from Denver during the summer. Lawson quickly lost his starting spot in Houston and averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 assists over 53 games. The Pacers picked him up after the Rockets waived him, and he saw just 18.1 minutes per night in 13 games with Indiana. Lawson, whose reputation has suffered after four DUI arrests and a stint in rehab, says he managed to stay clean last season and is ready to prove that he is still an elite player. “It would be big to be back to my old self again,” he said. “Also, it’s not for just me, it’s for my parents. They have had a hard time seeing what I’ve been going through. I know they hear the little comments at NBA games. To make them proud again would mean the world to me.”

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird has done almost a complete roster rebuild in three seasons, writes Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star. Paul George is the only player left from the team that reached the Eastern Conference finals in back-to-back seasons. Bird’s latest move came when he signed ex-Bull Aaron Brooks to serve as a backup to recently acquired point guard Jeff Teague. In addition to the roster turnover, Bird made a coaching chance this summer, firing Frank Vogel and replacing him with Nate McMillan.

Aaron Brooks Should Be Upgrade Off The Bench

July 19th, 2016 at 9:16am CST by ChrisCrouse

The Pacers hope newly signed point guard Aaron Brooks will be a more effective passer than Ty Lawson was off the bench, Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star writes. The arrival of Brooks gives the team 16 players under contract and Taylor believes Shayne Whittington, whose contract won’t become fully guaranteed until August 1, is the player most likely to be waived.

Community Shootaround: Eastern Playoff Team Most Likely To Slide?

July 18th, 2016 at 5:09pm CST by Luke Adams

Last week, one of our Community Shootaround discussions focused on this year’s non-playoff teams in the East, asking which of those clubs had done the most to improve its roster so far this summer. The Knicks and Sixers received the most support, but several lottery teams got positive reviews from Hoops Rumors commenters for their offseason work.

Today, it’s time to look at the other eight teams in the East. The Cavaliers, Raptors, Heat, Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Pacers, and Pistons all earned spots in the postseason. How many of those teams will be back in 2017, and how many will drop out?

The Heat had the most notable departure of any of those eight playoff teams, when Dwyane Wade left Miami to sign with his hometown Bulls. But Miami wasn’t the only club to lose a notable player. The Hawks saw Al Horford depart, and the Raptors parted ways with breakout rim-protector Bismack Biyombo.

The Hornets and Pistons, meanwhile, managed to re-sign their own key free agents, including Nicolas Batum and Andre Drummond, and added some complementary pieces. But Charlotte, at least, will have to deal with some notable departures as well, including Al Jefferson, Jeremy Lin, and Courtney Lee.

Finally, the Cavaliers, Celtics, and Pacers have all received solid reviews for their summer decisions — in Cleveland’s case, it’s simply enough to bring back most of the team that beat the 73-win Warriors for the championship. For Boston and Indiana, the changes are more notable — the C’s added Horford and No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown, while the Pacers brought in Jefferson, Thaddeus Young, and Jeff Teague, among others.

What do you think? Which of the Eastern playoff teams is most likely to slide down the standings in 2016/17? How many of these eight clubs do you expect to finish in the lottery next year? Is Miami the most obvious candidate to take a step or two backwards, or is there another team more in danger of underachieving?

Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the Cavs, Raptors, Heat, Hawks, Celtics, Hornets, Pacers, and Pistons. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Al Jefferson Contract Details

July 18th, 2016 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

The third year of Al Jefferson‘s three-year contract with the Pacers is only partially guaranteed. The team currently owes him $4MM for the 2018/19 season, but if he stays on the roster, he’d earn his full $10MM salary.

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