Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Draft Combine Latest: Upshaw, Russell, Booker

May 13th, 2015 at 4:58pm CST by Chuck Myron

Former University of Washington center Robert Upshaw registered perhaps the most impressive numbers as the NBA measured prospects today at the predraft combine in Chicago. He checked in a 7 feet tall and had the greatest standing reach (9’5″), wingspan (7’5.5″), hand length and hand width, notes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter links). Washington dismissed Upshaw in January for a violation of team rules, but his size will surely make teams think twice. The 21-year-old is the No. 30 prospect with both Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress. Here’s more from the combine:

D’Angelo Russell is interviewing with the Lakers and Pacers today and the Sixers on Thursday, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter links). The combo guard told Pompey he prefers to play the point and would love to play for the Sixers.
Stanley Johnson, whom the Sixers are hesitant to peg as either a shooting guard or small forward, already interviewed with Philadelphia today, Pompey tweets.
Shooting guard Devin Booker and center Myles Turner are also speaking with the Pacers today, tweets Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star. Check out our full profile on Booker here and our profile on Turner here.
Sam Dekker‘s athleticism stood out as he went through ball-handling and shooting drills Tuesday, as Ford observes in an Insider-only piece. His shooting was solid but not overwhelming, according to Ford, who sees the small forward from Wisconsin going between the 10th and 15th picks.
GMs who spoke with Ford on Tuesday have shooting guard R.J. Hunter ranked as high as No. 12 and as low as No. 21, as Ford writes in the same piece. The NCAA tournament hero is No. 21 in Ford’s ranking.
Brazilian prospect George Lucas registered a 7-foot wingspan today, the longest ever recorded for a point guard in the DraftExpress database, as DraftExpress contributor Derek Bodner points out (Twitter link). Lucas, who also goes by George de Paula, is slated to be one of the participants in five-on-five drills this week, as shown on the full list of five-on-five participants that Ford shared via Twitter.

And-Ones: Coaches, Jokic, Payne, Draft

May 7th, 2015 at 1:06pm CST by Chuck Myron

Most of the college coaches who’ve come into the NBA over the past two decades have either left basketball schools that gave them wide autonomy, joined NBA teams with little hope of success, or both, observes Phil Taylor of Sports Illustrated. Brad Stevens doesn’t fit either category, and neither does new Thunder hire Billy Donovan, Taylor argues, suggesting that the success Stevens has found with the Celtics is an auspicious omen for Donovan and a signal that more college coaches are on their way to the league. In any case, Stevens is the only college head coach to jump directly to the NBA since 2000 to guide his NBA team to the playoffs, as I pointed out. Here’s more from around the Association:

The Nuggets are expected to sign 2014 second-round pick Nikola Jokic prior to summer league in July, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. It’s not entirely clear whether the deal will cover only summer league or will formally bring the 6’11” draft-and-stash prospect onto the roster for training camp in the fall. However, the Nuggets are anxious to see last year’s 41st overall pick compete against NBA-caliber talent, Dempsey writes. The 20-year-old center averaged 14.9 points and 9.0 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game this season for KK Mega Vizura in his native Serbia.
It’s Murray State point guard Cameron Payne‘s dual threat of scoring and passing that truly distinguishes him as a top prospect, but his ability to perform on defense is a question mark, as Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress examine. Givony ranks Payne as the 20th-best draft hopeful.
Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com, in an Insider-only piece, debate the avenues the Nuggets, Heat, Pacers and Jazz have to improve via the draft, sharing conflicting viewpoints on whether it would behoove Utah to spend a third consecutive lottery pick on a point guard.

2014/15 D-League Usage Report: Pacers

May 1st, 2015 at 9:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The relationship between the NBA and the D-League continues to grow, and 17 NBA franchises currently have one-to-one D-League affiliates amongst the 18 D-League teams. The remaining 13 NBA teams shared the Fort Wayne Mad Ants this season. We at Hoops Rumors will be recapping each team’s use of the D-League this season, looking at assignments and recalls as well as the players signed out of the D-League. We’ll continue onward with a look back at how the Pacers utilized the D-League during the 2014/15 campaign…

D-League Team: Fort Wayne Mad Ants

Affiliation Type: Shared

D-League Team Record: 28-22

Number of NBA Players Assigned To D-League: 1

Total D-League Assignments: 2

Player Stats While On Assignment

Shayne Whittington: 2 assignments, 1 game, 5.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.0 APG. .500/.000/.500.

D-League Signings

None

Assignment/Recall Log

January 27th: Assigned Shayne Whittington (Recalled January 30th)
April 8th: Assigned Shayne Whittington (D-League Playoffs)

Central Notes: Hibbert, Love, Bucks

April 29th, 2015 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pacers performed their due diligence last summer and shopped center Roy Hibbert, but Indiana predictably found no takers for the big man, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News writes. This offseason may offer the franchise more luck in dealing the 28-year-old since he’ll be on an expiring contract, provided Hibbert exercises his player option worth $15,514,031, Deveney notes. One NBA assistant coach said Hibbert might be a worthy gamble for another team if the big man could be motivated to stay in shape, Deveney adds. “The last two years, he has dropped off in the second half of the season,” the assistant said. “With big guys like that, the first thing you think of is conditioning. If you can make sure he is in shape for all 82 games, maybe give him time off here and there, he would be worth the risk.”

Here’s more from the Central Division:

LeBron James says that he hasn’t spoken with Kevin Love recently about whether or not the big man intends to opt out of his deal, Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com writes. When asked if Love would return to the Cavs next season, James said, “That’s a question that I can’t answer right now. I think that’s the last thing on his mind right now. What’s on his mind is his shoulder and how disappointed he is, how hurt he is over the fact that he can’t play in this postseason. I don’t think he’s thought about the offseason or what he wants to do. I haven’t had that conversation with him, and I shouldn’t have to have that conversation with him, especially right now when we’re going through this challenge and this battle of trying to win a championship. So I can’t answer that question.“
The mid-season trade for Michael Carter-Williams shows that the Bucks are looking toward their future rather than trying to simply make the playoffs, Deveney writes in a separate piece. “That’s the difference between the past and now,” GM John Hammond told Deveney. “There’s the big difference. We’re not building toward that now. We’re building toward becoming a championship-caliber team.”
The Pistons would like to bring back unrestricted free agent Joel Anthony to fill the role of backup center next season, but the team needs to address more pressing needs prior to making a decision regarding the big man, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes.

Central Notes: Love, Butler, Pistons, Hill

April 26th, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Love suffered a dislocated left shoulder in Sunday’s game against Boston and will be evaluated further, the Cavaliers announced. The incident happened in a first quarter skirmish between Love and the Celtics’ Kelly Olynyk. Love immediately headed for the locker room and did not return. The Cavaliers said Love will receive “examination, imaging and evaluation at Cleveland Clinic Sports Health over the next 24 hours.” His status for the rest of the playoffs will depend on the results of those tests. Love was wearing a sling after the game, but said his shoulder was feeling better and he hopes to be ready for Game 1 of the next series, tweets Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group. Love wasn’t forgiving toward Olynyk, tweets Dave McMenamin, saying, “I thought it was a bush-league play … I have no doubt in my mind that he did it on purpose.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Jimmy Butler has emerged as the ideal complement to Derrick Rose in the Bulls‘ backcourt, according to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com. Heading into free agency this summer, Butler has left behind his “role player” days and has become a full-fledged star, Friedell writes. “We have a very strong backcourt right now,” said center Joakim Noah. “Both him and Derrick, it’s very good. I’m very happy to have them as teammates.”
After upgrading at point guard with the trade for Reggie Jackson, the Pistons now face the challenge of improving at other positions, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. He praised coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy for being willing to part with depth and three-point shooting to acquire Jackson, who is very much in the team’s future plans despite being a free agent this summer. He also noted that the Pistons seem likely to bring back Anthony Tolliver, who has a $3MM contract, with only $400K guaranteed.
The Pacers‘ Solomon Hill took advantage of the opportunity given to him when Paul George broke his leg, writes Andrew Perna of Real GM. The second-year player was given increased court time and responded by being the only Pacer to appear in all 82 games. He is under Indiana’s control through the 2017/18 season.

And-Ones: Porzingis, Bjelica, Stevens

April 22nd, 2015 at 10:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Projected 2015 lottery pick Kristaps Porzingis indicated that he withdrew from last year’s draft because he felt he wasn’t yet ready to compete in the NBA, Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype relays. “As soon as I declared for the draft, I knew that I wanted I to stay one more year in Spain to get better,” Porzingis said. “Now looking back I think we made the right decision. I had a bad start of the season – individually and as a team. I could have played much better, but I think I have improved my consistency and I have picked it up since the bad start of the season. This season has been tough, but I want to say thanks to coach [Scott] Roth for the work he did with me in Seville. I have a lot of respect for him as a coach and I wish him the best.” The seven-footer also indicated that he no longer had doubts regarding entering the NBA, Sierra adds.

Here’s more from around the league:

According to Chris Mannix of SI.com (Twitter links), two assistant coaches who will be in play this offseason for available head coaching vacancies are the Pacers‘ Dan Burke, and the Hawks‘ Kenny Atkinson.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens has his team ahead of schedule in its rebuilding process, which is a testament to his abilities as a leader, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today writes. Stevens stressing unselfishness and creating opportunities for teammates appeals to Boston’s players, Zillgitt adds. “All these guys are in the NBA for a reason, and they’re really, really good at something,” Stevens said. “If you can separate yourself at being one of the best at the things you do well, then you always have a spot where people are going to value you. It just makes sense to a be a superstar in your role.”
Former NBA GM and current coach of the Turkish club Eskişehir Basket Brad Greenberg has high praise for Wolves‘ draft-and-stash pick Nemanja Bjelica, David Pick of Basketball Insiders writes. While Greenberg believes Bjelica is ready to play in the NBA, he’s not sure if the big man will head to the U.S. to play in the near future, Pick adds. “Can Bjelica be on an NBA team? Sure. Will he? I don’t know,” Greenberg said. “Like all high-level Euroleague players who make a lot of money overseas, it has to be a situation that makes sense financially, and where he gets an opportunity to play. Europeans don’t want to give up something that is comfortable, good and financially rewarding for a ‘what if?’ situation. Bjelica is talented enough to be in an NBA gym and not look out of place. That’s for sure.”

Central Notes: Scola, Stuckey, Jackson, Prince

April 20th, 2015 at 10:58am CST by Chuck Myron

Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star looks at each of the soon-to-be free agents on the Pacers, pegging Rodney Stuckey and Lavoy Allen as the most likely among them to return, C.J. Watson and Chris Copeland as unlikely to be back, and Luis Scola and Donald Sloan somewhere in between. President of basketball operations Larry Bird said they’d all like to be back, but Scola, while praising the Pacers organization, doesn’t seem quite ready to commit, as Buckner relays.

“We’ll see what happens. We didn’t have our exit meeting yet. I’m hoping to get some type of feedback there and some type of impression of what they want to do in the future and move on from there,” Scola said last week.

Buckner suggests Stuckey, who drew praise from Bird, wants a multiyear deal with his wedding planned for mid-July. While we wait to see if the Pacers have something picked out for him on his registry, here’s more from around the Central:

Greg Monroe isn’t ruling out a return to the Pistons, but Reggie Jackson has spoken of communicating with other Pistons over the summer so everyone stays motivated for next season, notes MLive’s David Mayo, pointing to the dichotomy between Detroit’s two main soon-to-be free agents. As for other free agents on the team, the Pistons are unlikely to offer Tayshaun Prince a chance to return, and John Lucas III probably won’t be back with the team next year, Mayo writes.
Several NBA executives say that they expect Khris Middleton to wind up signing a deal with $8MM annual salaries this summer, reports Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. That figure is somewhat lower than the $10MM estimate that Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops heard from several GMs and other executives recently. Woelfel points to numbers that don’t suggest much improvement from Middleton this season, though he grants that the Bucks combo forward’s value could escalate with a strong playoff performance.
Former Bucks center Larry Sanders still doesn’t have a desire to return to the game, Woelfel notes within the same piece.

Pacers Win Tiebreaker For 11th Lottery Position

April 17th, 2015 at 2:25pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pacers won a random draw with the Jazz today that gives Indiana the 11th lottery position and Utah the 12th, reports Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The teams finished with identical 38-44 records this season. Indiana will have an eight-in-1,000 chance at the No. 1 overall pick, and Utah will have a seven-in-1,000 chance, but while the extra chance the Pacers have probably won’t matter, the Pacers are in line to pick one spot in front of the Jazz if, as is most likely, neither team wins any of the top three picks.

The Lakers, who hold Houston’s first-rounder, won a random draw with the Celtics, who have the Clippers’ selection, for the 27th pick, so Boston will pick 28th, Washburn also reports (Twitter link). The Mavericks have the 21st pick and the Bulls the 22nd after winning the random draw between those teams, and the Grizzlies won their draw with the Spurs for pick No. 25, leaving San Antonio pick No. 26, according to Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk.com. We’ve updated our post showing this year’s draft order and lottery odds with the latest news.

The procedure for two teams tied for lottery spots dictates that they split the odds for the two positions they occupy, and that the winner of the tiebreaker receive the extra chance if there’s an odd number of them. But since the 11th team in the lottery receives eight chances out of 1,000 and the 12th gets seven chances out of 1,000 to win the lottery, the Pacers simply take over the odds of the 11th spot. There’s less than a 10% chance that either team will move up or back in the lottery.

The tiebreaker comes with a slight financial consequence for next season, since the Pacers will have the rookie scale amount for the 11th pick instead of the 12th counting against their cap, and the Jazz the opposite, a difference of nearly $100K. That difference will be slightly larger once the draftees sign for the usual 120% of those scale amounts. The teams could remove those respective cap hits if they and the players they pick agree in writing not to sign next season, but that’s an unlikely outcome.

Pacers Rumors: Hibbert, West, Stuckey, Scola

April 17th, 2015 at 11:21am CST by Chuck Myron

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird spoke today of shifting toward a small-ball approach and said that it would be the plan regardless of what Roy Hibbert does with his $15.514MM player option for next season, as Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star relays (Twitter links). Coach Frank Vogel said Hibbert’s role will be “diminished” and wouldn’t dismiss the idea that he’ll bench the center, Buckner notes (All four Twitter links). It’s forboding news for the slow-footed Hibbert, Buckner observes (on Twitter), and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com wonders if Bird’s remarks are intended to try to convince Hibbert to opt out (Twitter link). Bird said he has “no clue” what Hibbert will do with the option, Buckner points out (on Twitter). Windhorst finds it difficult to envision the big man turning down that much money, though Hibbert’s agent, David Falk, has had no shortage of success in finding the right deal on the market for Hibbert and his other clients, the ESPN scribe notes (on Twitter). There’s plenty more from the exit interviews in Indiana, and we’ll sum up the most relevant information here:

Bird said he didn’t know what David West would do with his $12.6MM player option, though he added that West had made references to next year when they spoke earlier, Buckner tweets. Vogel said that he has a gut feeling that West will opt in, but while he expects Hibbert will also do so, he emphasized that it’s just his speculation about the center, Buckner notes (Twitter links).
All of the Pacers who are set to become free agents expressed a desire to re-sign with the Pacers, Bird said, adding that whether that happens for all of them remains up in the air, as Buckner relays (Twitter link).
It’s important for the Pacers that soon-to-be free agent Rodney Stuckey re-signs, Bird believes, and he’s optimistic they’ll get a deal done, according to Buckner (on Twitter). “We need guys like Rodney,” Bird said.
Bird expressed hope that the team would re-sign Luis Scola, too, but the exec doesn’t think the Pacers will retain C.J. Watson, Buckner notes (Twitter links). It’s unclear whether Bird simply doesn’t intend to pursue a new deal with Watson or if he thinks the point guard will command more on the market than the Pacers will be willing to pay.

Central Notes: Watson, Van Gundy, Monroe

April 16th, 2015 at 5:00pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Unrestricted free agent C.J. Watson would like to return to the Pacers next season, Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star relays (Twitter link). “I don’t even know yet,” Watson answered when asked if he would return to Indiana.”Hopefully I’ll be back here. I like it in Indy. I love the team and the atmosphere of the city. We’ll see what happens. It’s not really in my hands. So we’ll see.” The 30-year-old appeared in 57 games for Indiana this season, averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.6 assists in 24.9 minutes per night.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Pistons owner Tom Gores says his belief in coach/executive Stan Van Gundy has only grown since he brought the veteran coach aboard, Keith Langlois of NBA.com writes. “I believe in Stan more today than the day I hired him,” said Gores. “Stan is his biggest critic. I’m very happy with him as a coach. I’m also very happy with him as president of basketball operations. We had the bad start. I think we’ve done what we need to accomplish this year.”
Gores also relayed that remaining in Detroit should be appealing to free agent Greg Monroe, Langlois adds. “He’ll have ownership and a coach that is behind him and a real base for his life going forward,” Gores said. “He has the ability to establish a foundation for us. But he’s a professional. Whatever Greg does, it’s going to be up to him. But he’s a real pro. He’s been with us a long time. I’ve never seen him do the wrong thing. He always does the right thing and I hope we can land Greg. And if we don’t, whoever lands him will be a very lucky franchise.“
While he’s excited at the prospect of free agency, Monroe would have preferred the scenario where he was settled in with the Pistons for the long haul, Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press writes. “You guys have been around here for the past couple of years,” Monroe told Ellis. “I much rather would have been settled in here. That didn’t happen, and I’m in this position.” Monroe is referring to Detroit failing to offer him an extension back in 2013, and not the contract he reportedly turned down last offseason.