Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

MacMullan Walks Back Claim Bird Left Pacers Over Spending Frustrations

August 6th, 2020 at 3:44pm CST by Luke Adams

After suggesting recently on a podcast that former Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird stepped down from that position because of the team’s unwillingness to spend, ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan has walked back that claim.

“I misspoke when I expressed my opinion regarding the business practices of the Indiana Pacers, and inferred that Larry Bird had been frustrated during his time as team president,” MacMullan said in a statement relayed by the Pacers. “It was a careless remark, based solely on my opinion, and therefore should have never been said. Larry Bird never expressed those feelings to me, and I apologize to both Larry and team owner Herb Simon for poor choice of my words.”

Bird issued a statement of his own, further confirming that his departure from the top job in the Pacers’ front office didn’t stem from frustration about the club’s spending habits.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Bird said. “I want everyone to know I left there because it was time for me to move on from the Pacers.”

Franchise Lays Off Numerous Employees

August 3rd, 2020 at 7:43pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Numerous full-time Pacers Sports and Entertainment employees have been laid off due to a decline in revenue resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Andrew Smith of TheIndyChannel.com relays. The franchise did not specify how many employees were let go. “While we have been able to avoid impacts to our full-time staff during the last four months, the continued uncertainty of a return to fully-attended events have regrettably made further steps unavoidable,” Rick Fuson, president and COO of Pacers Sports and Entertainment, said in a statement.

Oladipo Not Playing On Monday; Brogdon Returns

August 3rd, 2020 at 1:32pm CST by Luke Adams

1:32pm: Oladipo has officially been ruled out for Monday’s game, while Brogdon will be active, tweets Agness.

10:45am: Pacers guard Victor Oladipo has been listed as doubtful to play in Monday’s game against the Wizards, as Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports tweets. Oladipo continues to rehab the quad tendon injury that he returned from earlier this year.

The fact that Oladipo isn’t expected to suit up against Washington shouldn’t be a cause for concern for Pacers fans. Indiana is also scheduled to play on Tuesday vs. Orlando, and even after the All-Star guard changed his mind about sitting out the restart, there was an expectation that he wouldn’t play in both halves of the team’s lone back-to-back set. Sitting on Monday should mean that Oladipo is good to go on Tuesday.

Oladipo, who announced a month ago today that he would opting out of the restart this summer, reconsidered that position after accompanying the Pacers to Orlando and responding well in practices. He logged 32 minutes in the club’s win over Philadelphia on Saturday, putting up 15 points and seven rebounds on 6-of-14 shooting.

Meanwhile, Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon, who missed that game against the Sixers due to a neck injury, is listed as questionable for Monday’s contest vs. Washington, Agness notes. If Brogdon isn’t able to return today, he seems likely to do so soon.

Mike Budenholzer, Billy Donovan Win Coaches Association Award

August 3rd, 2020 at 11:37am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer and Thunder head coach Billy Donovan have been voted the co-coaches of the year by the National Basketball Coaches Association, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

This award, introduced in 2017, isn’t the NBA’s official Coach of the Year award, which is voted on by media members and is represented by the Red Auerbach Trophy. The winner of that award is expected to be announced at some point during the postseason this summer.

The Coaches Association’s version of the award – named after longtime NBCA executive director Michael H. Goldberg – is voted on by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, none of whom can vote for himself.

Budenholzer, who also won the NBCA’s award in 2019, has had even more success with the East-leading Bucks this season. His team has a 54-13 record and – before the season was suspended – had been on pace to surpass the 60 victories that last year’s Milwaukee squad racked up.

As for Donovan, he has exceeded expectations with a Thunder team that was viewed as a borderline playoff contender and a candidate for a full-fledged rebuild. Instead of returning to the lottery following the offseason departures of Russell Westbrook and Paul George, Oklahoma City is 41-24, good for sixth in the Western Conference. A strong finish over the next couple weeks could result in a top-four record in the conference for the Thunder.

Raptors head coach Nick Nurse, widely viewed as the favorite to win the official Coach of the Year award in 2020, was one vote away from finishing in a three-way tie with Budenholzer and Donovan, per Wojnarowski.

Sources tell ESPN that Taylor Jenkins (Grizzlies), Nate McMillan (Pacers), Erik Spoelstra (Heat), and Brad Stevens (Celtics), and Frank Vogel (Lakers) also received votes.

Central Notes: Warren, Oladipo, Felicio, Drive

August 2nd, 2020 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

With most of the NBA’s top scorers gathered in Orlando, it’s somewhat surprising that T.J. Warren has the highest single-game total so far. After the Pacers forward exploded for a career-best 53 points in Saturday’s win over the Sixers, teammates told Eric Woodyard of ESPN they have always recognized what a dangerous shooter he can be.

“T.J. Warren been scoring his whole life. Since his AAU days to N.C. State,” Victor Oladipo said. “He’s been a scorer since as long as I’ve known him. I’ve known him for a long time. … He was born to get buckets, so it’s no surprise to any of us that he was able to do what he did tonight. It’s great to have him on our team. It was amazing to watch, and we’re all happy for him. That was incredible. Things like that don’t happen often.”

With Oladipo sidelined for most of the season, Warren has emerged as the leading scorer on a team that needed a boost on offense. Indiana picked him up cheaply in a three-team trade last offseason, sending cash to the Suns and second-round pick KZ Okpala to the Heat in exchange for Warren and three future second-round picks.

“It doesn’t matter the environment, you’ve just got to come with it every game,” Warren said. “Every game I feel anxious and nervous at the same time, but it’s full of excitement. Tonight was one of those special nights.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Despite being a game-time decision, Oladipo played nearly 32 minutes Saturday and scored 15 points. However, the Pacers guard explained to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files that his status hasn’t changed. “It’s a day-to-day thing,” Oladipo said. “I wish I could tell y’all I’m going to play all eight games, but again, I can’t say that. I have to take it one day at a time. I’m sorry, but at the end of the day, I don’t want to say one thing and do another thing because you know how you guys acted the first time I did that.”
Bulls center Cristiano Felicio may be fighting for his future in the NBA next season, writes Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. Felicio, who appeared in just 22 games this year, will be entering the final season of a four-year, $32MM contract.
Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press examines the status of the G League’s Grand Rapids Drive now that the Pistons have an agreement to buy the Northern Arizona franchise from the Suns.

Victor Oladipo Will Start Pacers’ Opener

August 1st, 2020 at 5:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Victor Oladipo will be in the starting lineup as the Pacers begin their reseeding schedule tonight, the team announced on Twitter. Oladipo, who wasn’t sure if he was going to play at all in Orlando because of concerns about his quad tendon, had been listed as a game-time decision.

“He is in the lineup, he’ll be starting tonight,” coach Nate McMillan said. “So yes, he’s playing and ready to go.”

Oladipo has appeared in just 13 games this season after recovering from surgery that kept him sidelined until late January. He averaged 13.8 points in 25.9 minutes per night, which are both career lows. He also shot a career-worst .391 from the field and .304 from 3-point range.

Oladipo reportedly decided in early July to skip the NBA’s restart, but he remained on the Pacers’ roster and accompanied the team to Orlando. He had second thoughts once he went through a couple of practices at the Walt Disney World campus.

“This is very, very rare so right now I’m trying to figure things out just like everybody else had to figure what situation they were in,” Oladipo said, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “… Essentially this is my knee and my body, my leg and I’ve got to listen to how I respond because everyone responds differently.”

The news isn’t as good for backcourt partner Malcolm Brogdon, who will sit out tonight’s game because of a neck injury, the team announced in a separate tweet. This marks the 18th game Brogdon has missed this season with eight different ailments, notes Nat Newell of The Indianapolis Star.

Lance Stephenson Was ’99 Percent’ Set For Pacers Signing

August 1st, 2020 at 9:28am CST by marksuleymanov

NBA veteran Lance Stephenson was “99 percent” set to sign with the Pacers this past March before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered play until the league’s restart in Orlando, Forbes’ Adam Zagoria writes.

Stephenson, 30, was playing in China for the Liaoning Flying Leopards after signing a one-year pact this past August. In March, it appeared that Stephenson was on track to join Indiana for the third time in his career. However, his agent Reggie Brown confirmed to Zagoria that players who had been in international leagues were not eligible for the Orlando campus, negating the possibility of Stephenson’s NBA return after the hiatus.

“We were in serious conversations for a third-time’s-a-charm return to the Pacers,” Brown said. “We were offered buyout money from the team in China from the Pacers and we were 99 percent done. And then the pandemic took place, and the NBA decided that no overseas players would be allowed to participate in the 22-team bubble return. They would only take players who played last season or this season in the NBA and/or the G League.”

With the Leopards, Stephenson enjoyed a successful campaign, averaging 26.7 PPG and 7.4 RPG before the CBA season was suspended amid the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Last season, Stephenson suited up for 68 games as a bench piece for the Lakers.

Oladipo Saturday Status Uncertain, Bitadze Weeks Away

July 30th, 2020 at 7:37pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Pacers head coach Nate McMillan states that star shooting guard Victor Oladipo, whose status for the NBA’s season restart has remained uncertain, will be a game-day decision for Indiana’s first seeding game in Orlando on Saturday, according to Eric Woodyard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

“He went through practice today, he’ll go through practice tomorrow and like any other one of our players, we’ll see who’s available for Saturday,” McMillan said. Oladipo did play in all three of the Pacers’ scrimmages in Orlando.

McMillan also said this week that Pacers rookie center Goga Bitadze, the No. 18 pick in the 2019 draft, remains “a couple of weeks away” from being able to suit up for Indiana, according to J. Michael of the Indy Star (Twitter link). McMillan indicated last week that Bitadze is struggling with a soft-tissue injury.
With the team’s lone 2019/20 All-Star Domantas Sabonis away from the NBA’s restart campus dealing with plantar fasciitis, the Pacers are now looking to take a small-ball approach to their seeding games and subsequent playoff run, according to Mark Montieth of Pacers.com.

Domantas Sabonis Leaves Campus To Seek Treatment For Foot Injury

July 24th, 2020 at 6:17pm CST by Luke Adams

6:17pm: Sabonis is seeking treatment for plantar fasciitis in his left foot, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets. The team did not indicate if and when he would return to Orlando, Mannix adds.

4:47pm: Sabonis hopes to eventually rejoin the Pacers in Orlando, but could miss the rest of the season, Wojnarowski writes in his full report at ESPN.com.

4:06pm: Pacers big man Domantas Sabonis is dealing with a significant foot injury and is leaving the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus in order to seek treatment from a specialist, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Sabonis, who missed Indiana’s first inter-squad scrimmage on Thursday, has been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and hasn’t practiced for about a week. Although Sabonis could eventually return to the Disney campus and rejoin the Pacers, Woj’s classification of the injury as “significant” suggests the 24-year-old is unlikely to suit up anytime soon.

If Sabonis is unable to play for the Pacers during the restart, it will be a major blow to the team’s chances of advancing beyond the first round in the postseason. The 24-year-old had a breakout season in 2019/20, averaging a career-best 18.5 PPG, 12.4 RPG, and 5.0 APG in 62 games (34.8 MPG), en route to his first All-Star nod. He also established more chemistry in the frontcourt with Myles Turner as the season progressed.

Speaking of Turner, he missed a couple practices and has been limited recently due to a calf ailment, per Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports and J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter links). Malcolm Brogdon is also coming off a case of COVID-19, while Victor Oladipo has yet to decide whether or not he’ll play this summer.

Oladipo did participate in Indiana’s first scrimmage on Thursday, but said after the game that he remains unsure whether he’ll play in the seeding games and the postseason. If Sabonis is ruled out, it will be interesting to see if that influences Oladipo’s decision.

Given Sabonis’ situation, it’s worth noting that the NBA recently tweaked its re-entry rules for players who are approved to leave the league’s campus for medical treatment. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link), those players won’t necessarily have to quarantine for four or more days if and when they return. In fact, they may not have to quarantine at all if certain conditions are met, per Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link).

Sabonis Day-To-Day With Foot Injury

July 22nd, 2020 at 10:16pm CST by Jovan Alford

The Pacers announced on Wednesday that forward Domantas Sabonis is day-to-day with plantar fasciitis, per J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter links). Sabonis, who said he hasn’t touched a ball in six days, added that there’s no set timetable for his return. This season, the 6’11” big man is averaging 18.5 PPG, 12.4 RPG, and 5.0 APG in 34.8 MPG.