- Mark Montieth answered several Pacers-related questions in a mailbag for the team’s website. In it he addresses T.J. Leaf‘s potential role this season, with it likely being a 10th or 11th man due to the team’s depth and Leaf’s youth as the Pacers look to build on last season’s surprising success.
1:24pm: Approximately two hours after announcing his signing, the Pacers have waived Denzel-Dyson, according to the team.
While that may seem cruel, Denzel-Dyson is certainly on board — he should be in line for a bonus worth up to $50K as a result of his short stint on the NBA roster, assuming he signed an Exhibit 10 contract and spends at least two months with Indiana’s G League affiliate.
11:33am: The Pacers have signed free agent guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson, the team announced today in a press release. The move increases Indiana’s roster count to 18 players for now.
Denzel-Dyson, who went undrafted out of Samford University this spring, averaged 15.2 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.1 APG in 30.8 minutes per contest during his senior year.
I expect Denzel-Dyson’s stay with the Pacers will be very brief. The team doesn’t have room for him on its regular season roster, and likely envisions him as a candidate to play for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate. He can be designated as an affiliate player by the Pacers if he’s cut and clears waivers.
The Pacers have reduced their roster to 17 players, announcing today in a press release that they’ve waived forward Omari Johnson and guard Elijah Stewart. Both players were on non-guaranteed camp deals, so Indiana’s cap won’t be impacted by the moves.
Johnson, who will turn 29 in November, appeared in the first four games of his NBA career for the Grizzlies last season, averaging 5.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 1.8 APG. The 6’9″ forward has been solid in the G League, recording 15.9 PPG and 6.6 RPG with a .450/.401/.703 shooting line in 143 career NBAGL contests. He was waived by Memphis in June and joined the Pacers in September, appearing in one preseason game for the club.
Stewart, a 6’5″ shooting guard out of USC, signed with the Pacers in July after going undrafted in June. He averaged 11.7 PPG on .453/.391/.844 shooting in his senior year. In each of his four seasons with the Trojans, Stewart attempted more shots from beyond the three-point arc than from inside it. He appeared in a pair of preseason contests for Indiana.
The Pacers now have 15 players on standard contracts and two on two-way deals, so no further moves are required to reach the regular season roster limit, though that doesn’t mean the team will be inactive in the coming days.
One of Indiana’s two-way players, C.J. Wilcox, recently suffered a torn Achilles and is expected to be cut at some point. It also remains to be seen if Ben Moore, who has a partial guarantee worth $45K, will make the 15-man roster to start the regular season.
The 2018/19 NBA regular season will get underway in just five days, which means it’s time to get serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign. With the help of the lines from Bovada and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division, to have you weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
Having started with the Atlantic and Southwest divisions this week, we’re moving onto the Central today…
Indiana Pacers
- 2017/18 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2018/19: 47.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Pacers poll)
Milwaukee Bucks
- 2017/18 record: 44-38
- Over/under for 2018/19: 47.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Ersan Ilyasova, Brook Lopez, Donte DiVincenzo, Pat Connaughton
- Lost: Jabari Parker, Jason Terry, Brandon Jennings
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Bucks poll)
Detroit Pistons
- 2017/18 record: 39-43
- Over/under for 2018/19: 38.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Pistons poll)
Cleveland Cavaliers
- 2017/18 record: 50-32
- Over/under for 2018/19: 30.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: David Nwaba, Channing Frye, Collin Sexton, Sam Dekker
- Lost: LeBron James, Jeff Green, Jose Calderon, Okaro White
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Cavaliers poll)
Chicago Bulls
- 2017/18 record: 27-55
- Over/under for 2018/19: 29.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
(Trade Rumors app users, click here for Bulls poll)
Previous voting results:
- Boston Celtics (59.5 wins): Over (53.63%)
- Toronto Raptors (55.5 wins): Over (56.95%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (54.5 wins): Under (51.19%)
- Brooklyn Nets (31.5 wins): Under (56.04%)
- New York Knicks (28.5 wins): Under (54.13%)
- Houston Rockets (56.5 wins): Over (69.33%)
- New Orleans Pelicans (45.5 wins): Under (53.4%)
- San Antonio Spurs (44.5 wins): Under (60%)
- Dallas Mavericks (34.5 wins): Over (55.16%)
- Memphis Grizzlies (34.5 wins): Under (60.87%)
Hoops Rumors is breaking down the 2018 offseason for all 30 NBA teams, revisiting the summer’s free agent signings, trades, draft picks, departures, and more. We’ll evaluate each team’s moves from the last several months and look ahead to what the 2018/19 season holds for all 30 franchises. Today, we’re focusing on the Indiana Pacers.
Signings:
-
Standard contracts:
- Doug McDermott: Three years, $22MM. Signed using cap room.
- Tyreke Evans: One year, $12.4MM. Signed using cap room.
- Kyle O’Quinn: One year, $4.45MM. Signed using room exception.
- Two-way contracts:
- C.J. Wilcox
- Note: Wilcox has been ruled out for the season with a torn Achilles and is expected to be waived.
- C.J. Wilcox
- Non-guaranteed camp contracts:
- Ben Moore: One year, minimum salary. $45K partial guarantee.
- Omari Johnson: One year, minimum salary.
- Elijah Stewart: One year, minimum salary.
Trades:
- None
Draft picks:
- 1-23: Aaron Holiday — Signed to rookie contract.
- 2-50: Alize Johnson — Signed to two-year, minimum salary contract. First year guaranteed. Signed using minimum salary exception.
Departing players:
- Trevor Booker
- Al Jefferson (waived)
- Alex Poythress (waived)
- Glenn Robinson III
- Lance Stephenson
- Joe Young
Other offseason news:
- Signed head coach Nate McMillan to a contract extension through 2020/21.
- Exercised 2019/20 rookie scale team options for Domantas Sabonis and T.J. Leaf.
Salary cap situation:
- Used cap space; now over the cap.
- Carrying approximately $106.2MM in guaranteed salaries.
- No cap exceptions left besides minimum salary exception.
Check out the Indiana Pacers’ full roster and depth chart at RosterResource.com.
Story of the summer:
Armed with upwards of $20MM in cap room, the Pacers entered the offseason in a rare position — not only were they coming off an impressive 48-win season and retaining all their most important pieces, but they were also in position to add another impact player.
However, despite some rumors about a few top-tier free agents – including Aaron Gordon – the Pacers ultimately took a similar approach to free agency to the one they took in previous years. Rather than using all that cap space in a single player, Indiana spread the wealth, adding a few veteran free agents to their roster on deals in the neighborhood of the mid-level.
Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott, and Kyle O’Quinn should fit in well on a roster that overachieved in 2017/18. Evans and O’Quinn have spent most of their respective careers on lottery teams and will be willing to play whatever roles are needed in order to get to the postseason. McDermott, meanwhile, has to be thrilled about getting a three-year commitment from a team that will be his fifth since the start of the 2016/17 season.
Those veteran additions flew under the NBA radar during an offseason that saw stars like LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard change teams, but they make perfect sense for a Pacers team looking to build on last season’s success without breaking the bank or compromising future flexibility.
Key offseason additions:An unrestricted free agent over the summer, Tyreke Evans received interest from teams like the Hornets and Lakers, but elected to join the Pacers. As J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star relays, the fact that the Pacers won 48 games and gave the eventual Eastern champs all they could handle in the postseason played a significant role in Evans’ decision.
“I figured out with the run they had, watching how they played and how the chemistry was, I thought I would fit well,” Evans said of the Pacers. “Even though a lot of people think it was a Cinderella run for them, I watch basketball a lot and I could tell the heart they played with in that first round. Throughout the season they played hard every night. I saw the fight in them. I wanted to be a part of that.”
Evans also said that he has no problem playing for a smaller-market team, noting that he could’ve ended up in L.A. but felt like the Pacers were a better fit for him.
NBA.com has completed its annual survey of NBA general managers, with John Schuhmann of NBA.com asking each of the league’s 30 GMs to answer an array of questions about the league’s top teams, players, and coaches. Unsurprisingly, the Warriors are once again viewed by the NBA’s general managers as the overwhelming favorites to be the last team standing, with 26 of 30 GMs (87%) picking Golden State to win the NBA championship for the fourth time in five years.
While there are many responses in the GM survey worth checking out, we’ll focus on rounding up some of the more noteworthy ones related to rosters and player movement. Let’s dive in…
- LeBron James (30%) and Kevin Durant (27%) are viewed as the frontrunners for the 2018/19 MVP award, but two younger players led the voting for the player GMs would most want to build a franchise around starting today. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo (30%) and Pelicans big man Anthony Davis (23%) led the way in that category. Interestingly, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns didn’t receive a single vote this year after leading the way with 29% of the vote in 2017.
- The Lakers‘ signing of James helped them earn 70% of the vote for the team that made the best overall moves this offseason. The Raptors, buoyed by their acquisition of Kawhi Leonard, finished second at 20%.
- A ton of different signings and trade acquisitions received votes for the most underrated addition of the summer, with the Pacers‘ signing of Tyreke Evans barely leading the way with four votes. The Spurs‘ trade for DeMar DeRozan, the Bulls‘ signing of Jabari Parker, the Pelicans‘ addition of Julius Randle, and the Thunder‘s acquisition of Dennis Schroder received three votes apiece.
- DeMarcus Cousins‘ decision to join the Warriors (35%) was considered the most surprising move of the offseason, followed by the Spurs/Raptors blockbuster trade (29%) and Paul George remaining with the Thunder (19%).
- While Mavericks guard Luka Doncic is the strong frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, GMs expect Suns center Deandre Ayton and Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. to be the best players five years from now. Meanwhile, the Clippers‘ selection of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at No. 11 was viewed by the most GMs as the steal of the draft.
- The Sixers (47%) and Celtics (33%) dominated voting for the teams with the most promising young cores.
Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson is still scraping off the rust after spending the summer rehabbing a high ankle sprain, Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press reports. Jackson, who originally suffered the injury in late December, returned to basketball activities on Thursday and participated in a public scrimmage on Saturday. He showed some quickness during the scrimmage but took a passive approach offensively, Ellis notes. “He’s looked really good,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s still rusty in certain areas, reading situations defensively, but I’m very pleased at where he is.”
We have more from around the Central Division:
- Pairing Justin Holiday and Jabari Parker at the forward spots could prove to be a successful stopgap measure for the Bulls, according to the analysis of NBC Sports Chicago’s Michael Walton. The Bulls are searching for ways to make up for the absence of Lauri Markkanen, who is out 6-8 weeks with an elbow injury. Holiday is a quality defender and 3-point shooter who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He should mesh well with a high usage player like Parker, who excels offensively. Parker’s ability to score on the break will allow Holiday to be more aggressive defensively and look for steals, Walton adds.
- Bulls shooting guard Zach LaVine feels a greater responsibility after signing a multi-year contract, as Mark Strotman of NBC Sports Chicago reports. The front office matched his Kings’ four-year, $78MM offer sheet in July and LaVine wants to be looked upon as a leader. “We have so many scorers, though, so if any of us have an off day I think we’ll be able to pick up the slack really easily,” he said. “I know I’m here to be a leader and put the ball in the hoop and become a complete player.”
- The Pacers’ second-round picks from the past two drafts have impressed in camp, Mark Monteith of the team’s website writes. Center Ike Anigbogu, guard Edmond Sumner and forward Alize Johnson will likely spend most of the season in the G League but coach Nate McMillan likes their progress. “They’ve had really good training camps,” McMillan told Monteith. “I really like what I see from those guys.”
So far this offseason, two players have signed rookie scale extensions: Devin Booker got a new deal from the Suns, and the Timberwolves locked up Karl-Anthony Towns to a new long-term pact.
In each of those instances, the player received a maximum salary extension. Max deals, which require little negotiation, typically get done well before the mid-October deadline for rookie scale extensions. But with that deadline now just two weeks away, we may start seeing progress on a few other deals around the NBA.
Besides Booker and Towns, 21 players are eligible for rookie scale extensions this offseason, though some of the players on that list assuredly won’t get new deals. The Cavaliers aren’t about to give Sam Dekker a long-term contract, for example. And it’s safe to assume that the Bulls aren’t looking to lock up Cameron Payne early.
Still, there are several names on that list who are intriguing candidates for new deals. Here are 12 of them:
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (Nets)
- Stanley Johnson (Pistons)
- Frank Kaminsky (Hornets)
- Trey Lyles (Nuggets)
- Larry Nance Jr. (Cavaliers)
- Kelly Oubre (Wizards)
- Bobby Portis (Bulls)
- Kristaps Porzingis (Knicks)
- Terry Rozier (Celtics)
- Myles Turner (Pacers)
- Justise Winslow (Heat)
- Delon Wright (Raptors)
Not all the players on this list will sign rookie scale extensions within the next two weeks. In fact, most of them probably won’t. There are plenty of reasons for teams to wait — maybe the asking prices are too high, maybe their financial situations aren’t conducive to more long-term investments at this point, or maybe they simply want another season to take a closer look at their extension candidates.
[RELATED: Recent NBA Rookie Scale Extension History]
Still, it’s safe to assume that at least a couple players on this list will receive new deals. Typically, at least four players per year sign rookie scale extensions, and the numbers in previous seasons have often been much higher than that — in 2014, 2015, and 2016, a combined 24 players signed rookie scale extensions, for an average of eight per year.
With that October 15 deadline fast approaching, we want to know what you think. Which of this year’s extension candidates will receive new deals? Which deserve them, and at what price point? Which should be put off until they reach restricted free agency next summer?
Head to the comment section below to share your two cents on this year’s rookie scale extension candidates!
- Shooting guard David Nwaba had a two-year offer from the Pacers but he opted for a one-year deal with the Cavaliers, he revealed to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Nwaba became an unrestricted free agent after the Bulls rescinded his qualifying offer. “Indiana wanted me for two years, but Cleveland seemed like a better fit,” Nwaba told Fedor. “Young guys as well as veterans on this team, so I thought it was a perfect fit and knew I was going to get my opportunity here.”
- Glenn Robinson III is eager to jump start his career after an ankle injury marred his final year with the Pacers, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports. The swingman signed a two-year, $8.35MM deal with the Pistons that included a team option. “My shooting ability and being able to defend my position is going to be huge for us,” Robinson said. “It’s going to be up to Coach (Casey) who he puts in that starting wing spot, but I think the most important thing to me is finishing games.”