Brian Bowen, who played in Australia last season with the Sydney Kings, will join the Pacers on a two-way contract, tweets Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated. Indiana is also signing Jakeenan Gant of Louisiana to an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Bowen will opt out of the second year of his Australian contract to come to the NBA, tweets Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. The former McDonald’s All-American went overseas after the NCAA declared him ineligible in the wake of a recruiting scandal at Louisville. He declared for the draft last year, but withdrew before the deadline.
Bowen worked out for the Pacers last month and told Robert General of The Indianapolis Star that he wants to change the public perception of him.
“There’s a lot of narratives out there about me, but once you meet me you can tell I have a pretty good character and everything,” Bowen said. “I like to be responsible and everything and I’m just going to show teams that I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”
Gant has been named Defensive Player of the Year in the Sun Belt the past two seasons. He was also the league’s top rebounder at 8.7 per night, while averaging 20.5 points and 2.6 blocks.
Do not sign Rubio. Too small and too slow. Keep collison over him.