- Caris LeVert has been playing his best basketball this month since joining the Pacers, averaging 22.1 PPG and 5.3 APG with a .392 3PT% in his last 10 games. Myles Turner, meanwhile, had one of his best games of the season last Thursday, putting up 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting. Besides helping out Indiana with their production, LeVert and Turner – both considered trade candidates – are displaying their value for potential suitors, writes Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star (subscribers only).
- Head coach Rick Carlisle is back with the Pacers after exiting the health and safety protocols, according to James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star (via Twitter). Carlisle led Indiana’s practice Sunday and is expected to coach the team Tuesday at Miami, Boyd relays.
- Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, who tested positive for COVID-19 10 days ago, should be ready to return for Tuesday’s game, assistant Lloyd Pierce told James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. Pierce has filled in for Carlisle during his four-game absence.
Based on the whispers he has heard around the league, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst views Caris LeVert and Myles Turner as more likely trade candidates for the Pacers than Domantas Sabonis, he said on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. Although Sabonis has frequently been mentioned alongside LeVert and Turner in reports on Indiana’s potential trade chips, Windhorst hasn’t heard much chatter about the All-Star center.
During Friday’s episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst spoke at length to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon about the report on the Mavericks that MacMahon published earlier this week, which included details on how the relationship between Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle became frayed. Interestingly, Windhorst suggested that LeVert could perhaps relate to Doncic, stating that the Pacers swingman and Carlisle have not had the “greatest partnership” so far this season.
Here are a few more interesting tidbits shared by Windhorst during his podcast:
- Windhorst heard from one executive who said that the Trail Blazers, since their front office shakeup, have created the impression they’re willing to listen to inquiries on anyone except Damian Lillard.
- According to Windhorst, there are multiple execs around the NBA who believe that when the Sixers eventually trade Ben Simmons, at least one of the Kings, Timberwolves, and/or Rockets will be involved, either as Simmons’ destination or as a third team in the deal. As Windhorst explains, those three teams’ front offices are run by executives who previously worked with Daryl Morey.
- Although reports earlier this year suggested that De’Aaron Fox was expected to be off-limits in any Kings trade talks, MacMahon has gotten the sense that the point guard is no longer considered untouchable. According to Windhorst, Fox came to camp this fall 15 pounds heavier than he was when the season ended last spring.
On an episode of The Ringer’s podcast The Mismatch last week, Kevin O’Connor mentioned that Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis wants out of Indiana. The comment was made in passing and wasn’t expanded upon by O’Connor in any subsequent article or tweet, so it wasn’t clear whether it was something he was reporting or something he’d heard but hadn’t fully confirmed.
Following up on that rumor, Matt Moore of Action Network says he has also heard from multiple sources that Sabonis wants out of Indiana, adding that the big man’s desire for a change of scenery dates back to last season. However, all of Sabonis’ public comments have indicated that he’s happy to stick with the Pacers, and Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, who is plugged in with the team, called O’Connor’s initial report “false” (Twitter link).
The Pacers are reportedly open to the idea of moving Sabonis, so whether or not he wants to be dealt may ultimately be a moot point — Indiana could trade him either way.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the league:
- Knicks guard Kemba Walker hasn’t generated much – if any – trade interest from rival teams, since his knees are viewed as too much of a risk, Moore reports.
- Two sources who spoke to Moore suggested the Celtics are more likely to pursue a third impact player to add to their core of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, rather than breaking up the duo.
- The Bulls are in the market for a wing defender who could come off the bench, says Moore.
- Some executives were surprised by Jake Fischer’s report that the Pelicans could be buyers this season, since they’d gotten the impression New Orleans is more interested in long-term assets, Moore writes. Josh Hart is viewed as possibly the most likely trade candidate on the Pels’ roster, Moore adds.
- Despite Mohamed Bamba‘s strong season, the Magic are considered unlikely to discuss center Wendell Carter Jr. in trades, per Moore, who notes that the team also hasn’t yet indicated that Bamba is available.
- According to Moore, the Thunder are a good candidate to be a third team in a Ben Simmons trade, since Sam Presti and Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey have had multiple past dealings and Oklahoma City is well positioned to take on unwanted contracts.
Don’t count on the Pacers tanking anytime soon under owner Herb Simon, even if Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star believes they should strongly consider it.
Simon invited five local media members, including Doyel, to discuss the team and the recent report from The Athletic that the Pacers are open to a roster shakeup. The Athletic’s story characterized the Pacers and Simon as increasingly open to a rebuild, despite having resisted going that route in the past. But the 87-year-old pushed back against that notion, suggesting that he’s still opposed to the idea of a full-fledged rebuild and wants to remain competitive even if the club makes a few roster changes.
“We want to be as far up in the draft as possible because we want to win as many games as possible,” Simon says. “I just don’t play the game that way (tanking). I don’t think about it. Maybe I should think about it, but I don’t.
“I don’t want to see it,” he added. “And if I don’t want to see it, the fans don’t want to see it. Why would we want to go through a rebuild when we can build on the go? That’s the talent. Donnie (Walsh) did it all the time. Larry (Bird) did it. Kevin (Pritchard) will do it. We can do it.”
Simon told reporters, including Doyel, “I love our little team,” adding that he believes the Pacers have had some bad luck in close games and can turn things around without doing anything drastic. It remains to be seen whether he’ll adjust his stance by the trade deadline or whether Indiana will prove him right.
Here are a few more interesting quotes from Simon’s media session:
On the Pacers’ ability to acquire top free agents, which they’ve historically been unable to do:
“I don’t believe in the premise (that top free agents won’t consider the Pacers). We’ve had people like David West who wanted to come here. We’ve had our share of good players. Maybe the top three or four players may not want to come here because they want to go to a better climate or pay less taxes or whatever reason. I don’t use that as an excuse.
“… I think it’s blown out of proportion. If it’s the right situation and we pay the right price, we can get most every player, I believe. I don’t see that … I’m not going to pull the small-market (self-pity) thing. I’m not concerned about it. We have a wonderful environment here for players. They treat them very well. They’re taken care of properly. And (players) love being here.”
On his willingness to spend, despite not paying the luxury tax in more than a decade:
“I didn’t build a practice facility not to spend money. We didn’t rebuild this arena not to spend money. I had to put money in that. We’re building a beautiful plaza for the public. We try to be good citizens, and you’re just picking one point: ‘Why aren’t we paying (luxury) taxes?’ We’ll pay taxes when it’s the right time to pay taxes.”
On his desire to win a championship in Indiana:
“I’m not crying poverty, ‘Woe is our small market.’ I’m proud of this market. This is a basketball market, and we’ve had tough times and we’ve had good times and we’re going to have good times again. If I can hang around long enough, maybe we’ll even win a championship.”
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
The Pacers are signing undrafted rookie Terry Taylor to a two-way contract, agents BJ Bass and Cam Brennick tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The team has confirmed the move, announcing in a press release that former Houston Cougars guard DeJon Jarreau has been waived to open up a two-way slot for Taylor, whose deal is official.
A 6’5″ wing, Taylor had a big senior year in 2020/21 for Austin Peay, averaging 21.6 points and 11.1 rebounds in 27 games (37.0 MPG). He saw his three-point percentage dip to just 27.9%, but he made 35.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc in his first three college seasons and still made 52.1% of his total shots from the floor as a senior.
Taylor’s performance in college earned him a training camp invitation from the Pacers. While he didn’t earn a spot on the regular season roster, he joined the Fort Wayne Mad Ants – Indiana’s G League affiliate – and has gotten off to a great start, averaging 19.5 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.3 BPG on 67.9% shooting through 11 games (33.5 MPG).
Jarreau, meanwhile, has put up more modest numbers in 10 games (20.9 MPG) for Fort Wayne, recording 9.7 PPG, 4.3 APG, and 3.9 RPG with a .407/.381/.588 shooting line. He appeared briefly in just one game for Indiana.
Duane Washington holds the other two-way spot on the Pacers’ roster.
The Bulls have announced (Twitter link) that their next contest, scheduled to be a Sunday matinee matchup against the Lakers, has been pushed back to a later start time. The game will now tip off at 7 p.m. CT, after originally being scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. CT.
It was announced yesterday that the NBA would postpone Chicago’s two other scheduled games this week – tonight against the Pistons and Thursday night against the Raptors – after it was revealed that as many as 10 Bulls are currently in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago tweets that Coby White, Javonte Green, Derrick Jones Jr., and star wing DeMar DeRozan all have a chance to be cleared by the new tip-off time Sunday. It was reported over the weekend that White had returned to the Bulls’ Advocate Center practice facility for the first time since his diagnosis.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- After missing the Pacers‘ Monday loss to the Warriors, Indiana assistant coach Jenny Boucek is now in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. The first-season assistant will be replaced by Calbert Cheaney on the front of the bench, Agness adds.
- Pistons head coach Dwane Casey has revealed that the NBA will examine game tape to determine which Nets players came into “close contact” with Detroit players, per James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). Brooklyn players Paul Millsap, LaMarcus Aldridge, DeAndre’ Bembry, Jevon Carter, and James Johnson are currently in the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
- The Pistons are optimistic that the G League play of second-year point guard Saben Lee will translate at the NBA level, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Langlois notes that the early returns have been positive, and could lead to more minutes with Detroit for Lee. “I’m just doing whatever the coaches ask me to do,” Lee said. “Up here, I know there’s a lot of scorers, a lot of shooters. Whatever coach [Casey] asks me to do, I’m going to do that. That’s how I navigate that.” Saben played with Detroit’s NBAGL club, the Motor City Cruise, for his first seven contests this season.
The Pacers are considered the NBA team most likely to make a significant move on the trade market, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. However, Fischer says there’s a leaguewide skepticism that Indiana will embark on a full-fledged rebuild after hiring head coach Rick Carlisle to a four-year contract just months ago.
“Carlisle is not going to allow that to happen,” one assistant general manager told Bleacher Report. “They’re going to ‘middle build.’ They’re going to go with a sense of competing.”
As Fischer observes, a deal for 25-year-old star Ben Simmons would be the sort of big move the Pacers could make if they want to look toward the future while remaining competitive in the present. But none of Indiana’s top trade chips is the kind of star the Sixers would covet as the centerpiece as a Simmons deal. If the Pacers make a serious push for Simmons, they may have to loop in a third team, Fischer writes.
Here’s more on the Pacers from Fischer:
- As Shams Charania reported on Monday, the expectation among rival executives is that the Pacers will move one of their standout big men – Myles Turner or Domantas Sabonis – but not both. Fischer says Indiana may ultimately make its decision based on which player commands a higher return, which suggests the team doesn’t strongly prefer one over the other.
- Although Turner has been involved in trade rumors for years, the Pacers have always highly valued him, according to Fischer, who hears from sources that the club turned down a Pelicans offer that included the No. 4 pick in the 2019 draft. That pick was eventually sent to the Hawks, who drafted De’Andre Hunter.
- Sabonis’ value around the NBA is mixed, but Fischer names the Trail Blazers as one team that may be interested. Fischer also mentions the Kings, pointing out that Carlisle thinks highly of Harrison Barnes, but a Monday report indicated Sacramento hasn’t pursued Sabonis or Turner at all this season.
- Malcolm Brogdon can’t be traded this season after recently signing an extension. But besides Brogdon, rookies Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson are viewed by rival executives as the only Pacers players who are probably off-limits in trade talks. “Sabonis, Turner, (T.J.) Warren, (and Caris) LeVert all can be had at the right price,” another assistant GM told Fischer.
- In other Pacers news, the team has assigned center Goga Bitadze to the G League for the first time this season, tweets Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. As Agness points out, Bitadze has been out of Indiana’s rotation for weeks and could use some reps with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Pacers swingman Caris LeVert is attracting plenty of interest around the league, Jordan Schultz of Schultz Report tweets. His play-making and scoring abilities make him highly coveted, according to multiple sources who spoke with Schultz.
A report last week indicated the Pacers were looking at a roster shakeup, with LeVert among the players they’d be willing to move at the right price. He’s averaging 15.5 PPG and 3.1 APG in 28.1 MPG this season for Indiana, which has a 12-16 record. He has one more year left on his three-year, $52.5MM contract.
- Pacers president Kevin Pritchard has apologized for his recent comment to The Athletic that the franchise is still trying to “manufacture that real star,” according to James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star. Pritchard took heat on social media for the comment, considering the team has a two-time All-Star in Domantas Sabonis. Pritchard wrote in part on Twitter, “First of all, I believe in all our players and hold them to the highest order. In all honesty, I believe we have multiple ‘stars’ on our team but we all know we need more. We have challenged our players to be better. … Could have used a better word than ‘stars’ probably.”