Stanko Barac will participate in mini-camp workouts for the Pacers in June with the aim of signing an NBA contract, Shams Charania of RealGM reports. The 7’2” draft-and-stash prospect from Croatia played for Cedevita of the Euroleague this season.
Indiana has waited a long time on the 28-year-old Barac, who was selected No. 39 overall in the second round by the Heat in 2007 and then immediately dealt to the Pacers. President of basketball operations Larry Bird and his staff will determine in the workouts whether he’s worth signing, sources told Charania, or perhaps including him in a trade.
Barac, who averaged 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds for Cedevita, would seem to be an end-of-the-bench option at best for the Pacers. They have been shopping Roy Hibbert, who has a $15.5MM player option this summer, without any success. Backup center Ian Mahinmi has a $4MM guaranteed contract for next season. The Pacers have also expressed a desire to play smaller lineups more often next season.
Indiana attempted to sign Barac to a lucrative deal years ago but he opted to remain in Europe. His contract with Cedevita didn’t contain a NBA out clause, preventing the Pacers from signing him last season.