Caris LeVert is sidelined indefinitely after a mass was discovered on his kidney, but Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard believes there’s a chance he could play this season, tweets Eric Woodyard of ESPN. No timetable has been set on a possible return, and the team will decide how to proceed depending on the results of further testing.
“As soon as we found this out, all eyes were trying to help Caris,” Pritchard said. “This organization is going to step up.” (Twitter link)
The mass was discovered during a physical that LeVert was required to take after being sent from Brooklyn to Indiana this week as part of a four-team deal. The Pacers could have voided the trade after the mass was discovered, but they opted to take a chance on LeVert.
“There’s risks, we’re willing to accept that risk but there’s also a human element in that,” Pritchard said (Twitter link). He added that everyone on the Pacers’ management team was comfortable with completing the deal, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
There’s more from Indianapolis:
- The Pacers dealt with the Rockets to acquire LeVert rather than trying to get him from the Nets, according to Agness (Twitter link). Pritchard credits general manager Chad Buchanan with leading the effort. “We didn’t feel like we could get Caris directly from Brooklyn,” Pritchard said. “We needed a third team.”
- Guard Jeremy Lamb is nearing a return from an ACL tear in his left knee that he suffered last February, writes Michael McCleary of The Indianapolis Star. Coach Nate Bjorkgren said today that when he asked Lamb how he was feeling, he responded with a “thumbs up.” Lamb was a starter last season and averaged 12.5 points in 46 games before the injury. “I’m not saying that means (he’ll return) tomorrow, but it’s getting very close,” Bjorkgren said.
- T.J. McConnell has adjusted his game to the offseason coaching change, writes J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. McConnell has nearly abandoned his turnaround jumpers in the lane under Bjorkgren, who prefers layups and open 3-pointers. “He’s a guy who takes himself for granted,” said teammate Malcolm Brogdon. “When you talk to him he doesn’t understand how good he is. His IQ on the floor, knowing who to get the ball to, when to get the ball to him.”
- Myles Turner is focused on winning Defensive Player of the Year honors, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball News. He’s leading the league with 4.2 blocks per game, more than six entire teams. “I’m being more aggressive defensively,” Turner said. “I’m going after more shots and putting myself in position to be successful in that area.”
- The Pacers received $2.6MM from the Nets in the revised four-team trade, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Indiana created a $4.79M trade exception, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
Pacers are a class organization – always have been. Good on them for making the deal.
Hopefully the mass is benign.
I would love to see Jeremy Lamb and caris levert play together
So Pacers trade Oladipo for LeVert, 2 second round picks, also revived 2.6mil and created a 4.6 TE.
GM of the year honours coming this way.
Be interesting to see if they make another move.
Their GM should get some of that 2.6 mil as a bonus. Great job
Hope Caris gets well soon, I expect him to thrive in Indy. If I was Brooklyn I’d have rather gone Levert for Oladipo over that Harden package
Would have liked to get to see that Indiana team with a healthy Oladipo and Lamb, but I think they should be able to at least cover some of what they lost defensively with guards like Sumner…I also think Cassius Stanley should see more minutes on the wing, as he fills an area of need for the last several years, and has been very good so far for them, in a short sample size
With this situation, its hard to speculate when we might see Levert, but I think it will be interesting to see how he thrives as a go to scorer, with Malcom Brogdon next to him, and how Indiana might hide his deficiencies
For some reason, people speak poorly of Myles Turner, and I dont understand why. He is one of the best screeners in the league, and is one of the best defenders at the 5, spaces the floor, and his defense is so valuable to that team. He allows them to play multiple bigs.
Are the Pacers still looking to trade Myles Turner?
Prayers up for Levert…
Interesting perspective, that GM Pritchard sought to get Levert through Houston rather than from BRK directly. And, that as enacting an ostensible Harden trade, GM Marks can cover the loss of Lavert, and if Levert can thrive, provide Marks an excuse for moving him when everyone still has him in the high potential category. Everyone’s a$$ is covered!
Pritchard picked out Dipo, so on can imagine he can pick them… but Levert gets injured a lot and seems best when kind of tunnel-visioned. Well Brogdan is the other guard and he is ever-alert. Both are big, might be a 3.
Pacers must know it’s not serious. I certainly hope it’s not serious. Seems he will be out for awhile though. Just get better Caris. You’re young and got plenty of basketball in you. This also tells me they were not going to keep Oladipo. Either they think he wants too much. Or he’s not worth it. He also needs to play and get healthy. But I don’t see him getting a big contract in FA. Pacers as a small market do things differently. But they always seem to put out a good product. They seem to find guys other teams don’t.