9:31pm: Len has been placed on waivers, the Wizards announced (via Twitter).
1:12pm: After acquiring him earlier this week, the Wizards will cut center Alex Len, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Charania, Len intends to sign with the Pacers after he clears waivers.
The fifth overall pick in the 2013 draft, Len never became the sort of impact player his lofty draft position might suggest, but he has been a reliable frontcourt option for 12 NBA seasons, spending time with the Suns, Hawks, Raptors, Wizards, and Kings.
The 31-year-old Ukrainian has spent the last few seasons as a depth piece in Sacramento, where he made 149 appearances (15 starts) over the course of three-and-a-half seasons, averaging 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game.
Len was sent from the Kings to the Wizards along with Colby Jones in a three-team deadline-day deal that saw the Kings receive Jake LaRavia from Memphis. Despite trading away big men Jonas Valanciunas and Marvin Bagley III this week, Washington didn’t feel the need to retain Len, who will get an opportunity to join a playoff-bound team in the East.
The Pacers opened the season with Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman backing up starting center Myles Turner, but both reserves suffered Achilles tears during the season’s opening days, decimating the team’s depth in the middle.
Although Indiana traded for Thomas Bryant in December, the club could still use some another trustworthy veteran option as injury insurance, especially with Turner currently dealing with a neck strain.
The Pacers sent Wiseman to Toronto in a salary dump trade on Thursday, which both opened up a spot on their 15-man roster and created enough room below the luxury tax line to sign Len to a rest-of-season contract. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes (via Twitter), Indiana was only $147K below the tax threshold before making that deal.
Huge!
He is trash
Alex Len is the cat of nine lives in the NBA! You just can’t kill the guy’s career.
Ever hear of Michael Lelchitski? He must be a heck of an agent!
I thought the spot was for Jhalil Okafor..
Adequate pickup for the nights when Turner is dinged or in early going trouble. Both of which are not uncommon…
If consummated, this is a good insurance move for Indiana. It does probably mean that, in order for Len to crack the rotation, it will be fewer minutes for Bryant (unless Turner is unavailable). I don’t see Len as a threat to Toppin or anyone else that may play post minutes.
If they can find Len minutes and he shows a good grasp of the Pacers offensive and defenses schemes, he becomes an interesting candidate to resign and possibly allow the team to get further under the cap by letting Toppin and/or another player leave in the off-season.