Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Cunningham, Weaver, Toppin, Walker

March 11th, 2024 at 6:53pm CST by Dana Gauruder

A lot of things have gone wrong for the Pistons this season but there’s at least one promising development: Cade Cunningham is playing like an All-Star, James Edwards III of The Athletic writes.

Cunningham, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, is averaging 25.8 points, 7.9 assists and 5.8 rebounds per game since the All-Star break while shooting 47.6% from 3-point attempts. The Pistons combo guard has become a legitimate three-level scorer, Edwards notes, and has particularly been on the mark as a pull-up 3-point shooter over his last nine games.

We have more from the Central Division:

Pistons general manager Troy Weaver had a verbal exchange with a heckler in the stands during Saturday’s loss to Dallas and Edwards reports that the fan had been pestering Weaver in the build-up to what was captured on video. Weaver ignored the fan’s comments when he approached Weaver the first time. The second time, Weaver said something along the lines of, “I don’t come to your work and harass you.” The heated exchange, which was partially captured on video by another fan, showed the fan’s third time at provoking Weaver, according to Edwards.
Obi Toppin, who is headed to restricted free agency this offseason, has continued to be productive coming off the bench after the Pacers acquired Pascal Siakam to take his starting spot, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star writes. Toppin contributed 17 points in a win over Orlando on Sunday and has generally delivered offensively by finishing at the rim and making enough 3-pointers to keep opponents honest. “The guy gets out and runs better than anyone I’ve ever seen. He creates so much energy and disadvantages for the other team,” guard T.J. McConnell said.
With Bennedict Mathurin out for the season due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder, rookie Jarace Walker has a path to steady playing time, Dopirak notes. The Pacers have a need for another wing on the second unit. “Jarace can play 3 and 4,” coach Rick Carlisle said. Walker has appeared in 23 games, averaging 9.9 minutes in those outings.

Central Notes: Mathurin, Gibson, Pistons Guards, Bulls

March 10th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Losing Pacers reserve shooting guard Bennedict Mathurin for the year will have an intriguing ripple effect on the team’s bench as it prepares for the postseason, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

As Dopirak notes, Indiana is now without two of its top-scoring reserves from the start of the season, between Mathurin and Buddy Hield, who was dealt to the Sixers at the trade deadline. Forward Doug McDermott, the Pacers’ own sharpshooting acquisition added at the deadline, continues to rehabilitate his right calf strain, though he’ll be a big part of the bench when he does play. Rookies Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker seem likely to get significantly more responsibility as the season winds down.

There’s more out of the Central Division:

Workaholic new Pistons veteran power forward Taj Gibson, 38, is over a decade older than most of his new teammates. Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press writes that the 10-53 club appreciates Gibson’s daily grind, even in his 15th NBA season, and hopes that he can inspire the Pistons’ young, talented lottery pick core. Gibson is on a 10-day deal, so there’s no guarantee he’ll remain with in Detroit for the rest of the season.
The Pistons’ decision to, at last, stagger young guards Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey so that one of them remained on the floor at all times seemed to work wonders on Thursday in a 118-112 win over the Nets, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Head coach Monty Williams opted to employ a lineup of Cunningham alongside his second unit in the third quarter that really helped the club hold serve against Brooklyn.
Young Bulls guards Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have each taken big leaps in their development this season, with White in particular enjoying a breakout year. A lot of their growth has happened with star shooting guard Zach LaVine, the team’s priciest player, sidelined due to injury. Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic thinks the improvement of the young guards could be negatively impacted by a LaVine comeback next year, and wonders if the Chicago front office will look to offload the two-time All-Star.

Pacers’ Mathurin To Undergo Season-Ending Shoulder Surgery

March 9th, 2024 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Wojnarowski, Mathurin is expected to make a full recovery in advance of the 2024/25 season.

The Pacers have issued a press release officially confirming the news. The procedure will be performed next week in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, per the team.

It had been a promising sophomore season for Mathurin, who finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022/23 and had become a more efficient scorer in his second year in the NBA.

The MVP of this year’s Rising Stars event at All-Star weekend in Indianapolis, he averaged 14.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 26.1 minutes per game this season, with a .446/.374/.821 shooting line across 59 appearances (19 starts).

Mathurin’s injury is an unfortunate development for a Pacers team that sacrificed some wing depth earlier this season by trading away Bruce Brown and Buddy Hield in separate deals. As Wojnarowski and ESPN’s Bobby Marks note (via Twitter), the 21-year-old was a key contributor to the NBA’s No. 1 offense and one of the league’s best second units.

Mathurin ranked third on the roster in total minutes played this season, behind only Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, but will now have to watch from the sidelines as the club continues its push for a playoff spot without him. The Pacers currently hold the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference with a 35-29 record. They have a 3.5-game cushion on the ninth-place Bulls and are only 2.5 games behind the No. 4 Knicks.

With Mathurin unavailable, Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and Jarace Walker are among the Pacers role players who are candidates for increased roles. Trade deadline addition Doug McDermott also figures to take over some of Mathurin’s minutes once he’s healthy, but he has been sidelined since February 26 due to a calf injury.

As Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca notes (via Twitter), it’s not clear if Mathurin would have been in the mix for a spot on the Canadian national team this summer, but playing in the 2024 Olympics is almost certainly out of the question for him now.

Pacers Notes: Mathurin, McDermott, Hield, Smith

March 7th, 2024 at 6:11pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Pacers second-year guard Bennedict Mathurin is set to miss at least the next three games, and probably a fourth, as he deals with a sprained right shoulder, according to IndyStar’s Dustin Dopirak.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Mathurin will be reevaluated after Indiana’s upcoming two-game road trip that concludes March 12 in Oklahoma City. That reevaluation will come before the Pacers play the second half of a back-to-back against the Bulls on March 13, so it’s unlikely he plays in that game, according to Dopirak.

“We hope it’s not serious,” Carlisle said. “He’s a guy who bounces back very quickly and hates missing game. We hope that it’s relatively short term, but he will miss a week at least.”

Mathurin is averaging 14.5 points per game in his second year in the league.

We have more notes on the Pacers:

There’s still no return timetable for Doug McDermott, who is dealing with a right calf strain. According to Dopirak, as of Saturday, McDermott hadn’t engaged in any on-floor work since suffering his injury on Feb. 26. He’s averaging 5.7 points and shooting 41.5% from three this season.
Buddy Hield recently opened up about his trade from the Pacers, explaining how he didn’t see a future with the organization. “I love Buddy. I wish we could have kept him. The whole organization wishes they could have kept him,” Carlisle said in response to Hield’s comments (Twitter links via Dopirak). “And we could have, but it would have been self-serving for the organization. … He’s one of a kind. I loved him. I loved working with him for two years. He was a total pro with everything with he did.”
Jalen Smith is knocking down a career-high 61.2% of his field goals and 44.3% of his three-point attempts. According to Smith, the key to his better shooting is to stop thinking about knocking them down, Dopirak writes in another story. “I guess it’s just an ‘F-it’ mentality,” Smith said. “I’m pretty much saying if it goes in, it goes in. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.” Smith is playing just 17.7 minutes per night in a crowded frontcourt, but has been highly efficient in his limited time and is averaging 20.9 points and 11.3 rebounds per 36 minutes.

Sixers Notes: Hield, Covington, Melton, Payne, Martin

March 6th, 2024 at 6:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

Buddy Hield wasn’t surprised by the deal that sent him from the Pacers to the Sixers at last month’s trade deadline, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports. Philadelphia was in the market for shooters, also pursuing ex-Pistons marksman Bojan Bogdanovic, who wound up in New York, sources tell Fischer. Even though he hasn’t been on the court yet with Joel Embiid, who suffered a meniscus injury in late January, Hield is glad to be with the Sixers and believes they can become an effective combination.

“You want to go to a team that wants you. You don’t want to go to a team where you’re a piece and it’s like, ‘We’re gonna try this out,’” Hield said. “Other teams are trapping Embiid, so having a three-point shooter to keep guys honest, I know the reason why I was traded here.”

Hield is averaging 15.5 points per game since joining the Sixers while shooting 44% from the field and 42.2% from beyond the arc. He’s also landed a consistent role in the starting lineup, something that didn’t happen in Indiana as coach Rick Carlisle experimented with different backcourt starters alongside Tyrese Haliburton. Hield said he enjoyed the Pacers’ up-tempo approach, but he didn’t believe he had a future with the team after extension talks failed to produce a new contract.

“If a team doesn’t want to re-sign you, we asked them early and you know how it is. It’s the game,” Hield said. “They say they want to sign you and then after it doesn’t happen, the conversations don’t really keep going on the phone, and it’s like talking to a wall, and nobody’s responding back. But after that, you’re under contract, and you have to, like, honor your contract. So it’s one of those deals where you just gotta come in every day and be professional. But I know that the whole vibe was so different.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

The Sixers say Robert Covington will be reevaluated in about a week for a bone bruise to his left knee and could resume on-court activities in seven-to-10 days, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. De’Anthony Melton, who is battling a lumbar spine injury, has started an “offloading” program and will be reevaluated in approximately two weeks.
Cameron Payne said he was at about 70% because of the flu Tuesday night, but he opted to play because Tyrese Maxey is in concussion protocol, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I was like, ‘I’m 30 years old. Get out there and play, sick or not,’” Payne said. “‘Just get out there and help your team.’”
KJ Martin has been effective in his new role as a small-ball big man, observes Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. Martin was seeing an uptick in his playing time before missing three games with an injury last week.

Contract Details For Kendall Brown

March 6th, 2024 at 6:54am CST by Luke Adams

The three-year contract that Kendall Brown signed with the Pacers features a starting salary of $1.1MM, which came out of the team’s room exception. This season is the first year that the room exception can be used to sign players for up to three years instead of just two, and Indiana took advantage of that flexibility to give Brown non-guaranteed minimum salaries in 2024/25 and ’25/26, with a team option on that final year. He’ll receive a partial guarantee of $250K if he makes the Pacers’ regular season roster in the fall.
The two-way deals recently signed by Jeff Dowtin (Sixers), Jacob Gilyard (Nets), Jacob Toppin (Knicks), Ish Wainright (Suns), Quenton Jackson (Pacers), Harry Giles (Lakers), and Dylan Windler (Hawks) are all one-year (rest-of-season) contracts, so those players will be eligible to become restricted free agents this summer.

Brown Grateful For Contract "Reward"

March 5th, 2024 at 7:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kendall Brown‘s rookie season with the Pacers was cut short by shin surgery. Brown, a second-round pick, has shown enough this season in the G League to get his two-way deal promoted on Monday to a three-year standard contract. “It’s been a long two years,” Brown said, per Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “… The reward feels so much better when the path has been hard. My path has been different than a lot of other players in my class. I was just staying the course, just staying focused. Good things don’t come easy a lot of times. This is a good feeling to finally get that done.”

Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, McDermott, Branham, Barlow, Gray

March 5th, 2024 at 4:02pm CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne declared during an NBA Today segment on Monday (Twitter video link) that Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama is “ready to win” and questioned how patient the Rookie of the Year frontrunner will be as the front office looks to build out the roster around him.

However, Mike Finger of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link) pushed back against the idea that Wembanyama will be urging the team to accelerate the roster-building process.

“I say this without an ounce of exaggeration or hyperbole: I talk to people about the Spurs every day. And of all those people, there is one who is, by far, the most forward-thinking and relentlessly patient when it comes to the plan,” Finger wrote. “It’s the 20-year-old kid. And it’s not close.”

Armed with plenty of cap flexibility and an excess of draft picks this offseason, the Spurs will be well positioned to continue adding talent to their young core, but there’s no indication that the club will be looking to consolidate several of its assets in a win-now move quite yet.

Here’s more on the Spurs:

Ahead of the Spurs’s game against the Pacers on Sunday, Zach Collins admitted that he was sad to see former teammate Doug McDermott go at last month’s trade deadline, though he appreciated that McDermott landed in a favorable situation. “I talked to him the day it happened and just told him I was going to miss him and that it was really fun playing with him,” Collins said, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). “But I am happy for him that he got to go (to a playoff contender). In the playoffs you need shooting, and he is going to be really valuable for them.” McDermott was unable to suit up against his old team on Sunday due to a calf injury.
A full-time starter for the Spurs in November and December, Malaki Branham had been coming off the bench since January 2. However, he earned a rare start on Sunday and took full advantage by scoring 18 points and handing out six assists, much to the delight of his teammates, Orsborn writes (subscription required). “I don’t have words to say how excited I am for him,” Keldon Johnson said. “I’m happy for him and the way he stepped up tonight. We really needed it and it was big.”
After having been promoted to the Spurs’ standard roster from his two-way contract, Dominick Barlow earned praise from head coach Gregg Popovich for having improved “pretty dramatically” since joining the team, according to Orsborn. “He is someone who plays in a solid manner,” Popovich said. “You don’t see him making mistakes really. He is not really a shooter. He is a pretty good defender and he goes to the boards pretty well, runs well. So, all those kind of basic things he puts together and plays a game that kind of complements everybody else.”
RaiQuan Gray‘s new two-way contract with the Spurs will cover two years, running through next season, Hoops Rumors has confirmed.

Pacers, Quenton Jackson Complete Two-Way Deal

March 4th, 2024 at 4:52pm CST by Rory Maher

4:52pm: Jackson’s two-way deal with the Pacers is now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.

2:05pm: Free agent guard Quenton Jackson is signing a two-way deal with the Pacers, agents Adie Von Gontard and Gino Littles tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Jackson, 25, went undrafted out of Texas A&M in 2022. He signed a two-way deal with the Wizards last February, playing in nine NBA games as a rookie and averaging 6.2 points and 1.7 assists in 15.0 minutes per contest.

Washington released Jackson last summer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He wound up signing an Exhibit 10 deal with Chicago and has been playing for the G League’s Windy City Bulls during the 2023/24 campaign.

In 38 Showcase Cup and regular season games with Windy City this season, the 6’5″ point guard has averaged 16.0 points, 5.8 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 32.3 minutes, posting a .478/.221/.768 shooting line.

Indiana had an open two-way spot after promoting Kendall Brown to a three-year standard contract, so no additional transactions are needed to sign Jackson.

Pacers Promote Kendall Brown On Three-Year Contract

March 4th, 2024 at 9:50am CST by Dana Gauruder

MARCH 4: The signing is official, the Pacers announced in a press release.

MARCH 3: The Pacers are converting swingman Kendall Brown‘s two-way contract into a three-year standard deal, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. The club will use a portion of its room exception to complete the deal.

Indiana had an open roster spot, so it doesn’t have to make a corresponding move. Naturally, the Pacers will now have a two-way slot available. The deadline to sign players to two-way contracts is Monday.

Brown, the 48th overall pick in the 2022 draft, has played sparingly in six NBA appearances this season. He also played six games as a rookie.

The 6’7” Brown has spent most of the season in the NBA G League with the Indiana Mad Ants. He’s averaging 16.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 33.6 minutes per game through 33 games, combining the G League’s Showcase Cup and regular season schedules.

In the short run, Brown will add depth to the wing positions. Doug McDermott is currently out due to a calf injury and the Pacers dealt Buddy Hield at the trade deadline.

Brown re-signed with Indiana on a two-way deal in July.