Pacers Rumors

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Davis, Reddish, Russell

December 10th, 2023 at 12:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

LeBron James may end up playing with more teammates than anyone in NBA history, but he’s never found a better fit than Anthony Davis, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Davis dominated Saturday’s in-season tournament finale against Indiana with 41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists and four blocks, though MVP honors went to James, who averaged 26.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game throughout the competition.

The Lakers acquired Davis from New Orleans in a 2019 trade, and McMenamin points out that James has now played alongside him longer than he did with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami or Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in Cleveland. At the post-game press conference, McMenamin notes, it was clear that their personalities complement each other as much as their styles of play.

“I know who I am, he knows who he is,” James said. “So, there’s no friction. We’re not trying to compete with one another on the court or on a lifestyle basis. He knows who he is, I know who I am. The only thing we’re trying to do is hold each other accountable when we get to work and try to be the best we can be for each other, and when one is not going well, try to pick each other up. There’s no jealousy. There’s not a jealous bone in our bodies. We’re never jealous of one another. Ever.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

L.A.’s tournament performance provides a blueprint for the team to be successful in the playoffs, observes Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. The Pacers couldn’t stop the James-Davis pick-and-roll combination, and Davis was even more dominant on the defensive end. “Any time I step on the floor, I know I’m the anchor of the defense,” he said. “Giving guys the freedom to press up and get some ball pressure, and if they get beat, I’m there at the rim to alter the shot or block it.”
After Saturday’s game, James singled out Cam Reddish, who is finding a role with the Lakers after unsuccessful stints with Atlanta, New York and Portland, tweets Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report. “People were writing him off,” James said. “I’m so happy he got to experience this and perform. I believe in him.”
The matchup with the Pacers allowed D’Angelo Russell to renew his rivalry with Bruce Brown, per Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. They faced off in last season’s Western Conference Finals, and Brown, who was with Denver at the time, called Russell “not the best defender.” Russell was animated Saturday night, raising two fingers when Brown picked up his second foul in the first quarter and yelling at Indiana’s bench after he scored. “He was talking s–t all year. Yeah. Talking s–t all year,” Russell said of Brown. “For me, it was just showing it with my play. I don’t have nothing to say to him. I’m a fan of him to be honest. This was just all on the court. Got something to say? Show me on the court. (Nikola) Jokic ain’t there next to you today. It’s different.”

The Lakers Players Who Benefited Most From IST Prize Money

December 10th, 2023 at 8:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers‘ team salary this season is just above the $165.3MM luxury tax line, far exceeding the $126MM or so on the Pacers‘ books.

However, not a single player on Indiana’s roster is on a minimum-salary contract and only four Pacers players on standard deals are earning less than $5MM this season. By comparison, Los Angeles has eight players with cap hits below that $5MM threshold, including five earning the minimum.

While the $500K bonus for winning the NBA’s in-season tournament (IST) may be a drop in the bucket for maximum-salary stars like LeBron James and Anthony Davis, it serves as a significant pay raise for the players on the lower half of the Lakers’ cap sheet, as well as the players on two-way contracts who will receive bonuses worth $250K.

Here are the Lakers players for whom the NBA Cup prize money represents more than a 10% raise on their 2023/24 base salary, which is noted in parentheses:

Players receiving a $500K bonus:

Jarred Vanderbilt ($4,640,000)
- Note: Vanderbilt’s contract also includes $58K in likely incentives and $145K in unlikely incentives.
Taurean Prince ($4,516,000)
Jalen Hood-Schifino ($3,695,040)
Christian Wood ($2,709,849)
Jaxson Hayes ($2,165,000)
Cam Reddish ($2,165,000)
Max Christie ($1,719,864)
Maxwell Lewis ($1,119,563)

Players receiving a $250K bonus:

Colin Castleton ($559,872)
Alex Fudge ($559,872)
D’Moi Hodge ($559,872)

The bonuses for Lewis and the Lakers’ two-way players represent a raise of roughly 44.7% on their respective base salaries.

The Lakers’ coaching staff also benefited financially from their in-season tournament success. Head coach Darvin Ham earned the same $500K bonus that his players did, while his assistant coaches divvied up $375K in bonus money.

The Pacers’ players and head coach Rick Carlisle went home with bonuses worth $200K (or $100K for two-way players).

None of this prize money will count against the salary cap, so the Lakers’ team salary for cap purposes remains unchanged, as do the team salaries for Indiana and the other six clubs who made the knockout round of the IST.

LeBron James Named MVP As Lakers Win NBA’s First In-Season Tournament

December 9th, 2023 at 10:29pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers pulled away from the Pacers Saturday night in Las Vegas to finish the in-season tournament unbeaten and claim the first-ever NBA Cup.

LeBron James was named tournament MVP after posting 24 points, 11 rebounds and four assists as L.A. secured a 123-109 victory in the title game. Anthony Davis was the night’s biggest star with 41 points, 20 rebounds and five assists, while Austin Reaves contributed 28 points.

James was the MVP choice of 14 of the 20 writers who voted (Twitter link from NBA Communications). Davis got five votes, and one went to Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton.

At the post-game press conference, James said the Lakers showed growth as a team throughout the tournament (video link from Khobi Price of The Orange County Register).

“I feel like guys have felt a lot more comfortable in their roles,” he said. “We’ve had a pretty good understanding of rotations, who we’re going to be playing with, what guys want to do out on the floor. Like AD said, getting (Jarred Vanderbilt) back, getting Rui (Hachimura) back has definitely helped our size. Getting Cam (Reddish) back has helped us out a lot.”

Apart from two games with the Suns, the Lakers weren’t really tested as they posted a 7-0 record in tournament play. Assigned to West Group A, they began with a three-point win at Phoenix on November 10, then followed with comfortable victories over Memphis, Portland and Utah.

Knockout play began Tuesday with another three-point victory over the Suns, followed by a 44-point blowout of the Pelicans in Thursday’s semifinals.

Indiana suffered its first loss of the tournament after advancing out of East Group A, then upsetting the Celtics and Bucks in knockout games.

“We just got outplayed tonight from the start of the game to the end of the game,” Haliburton said (Twitter link from Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star). They just outplayed us.”

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Nembhard, Turner, Two-Way Players

December 9th, 2023 at 7:34pm CST by Arthur Hill

Borrowing a video game analogy, Tyrese Haliburton called Lakers star LeBron James the “final boss” that the Pacers have to defeat to win the in-season tournament, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

To reach tonight’s title game, Indiana had to get past a Bucks team that features Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard and a Celtics squad headlined by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Before that, there were group play matchups with Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, Atlanta’s Trae Young, and Detroit’s Cade Cunningham.

None of them has the same mystique as James, who has been one of the league’s elite players for more than two decades. Dopirak points out that Haliburton was just three years old when James played his first NBA game, and the Pacers guard followed him closely until he became a professional himself.

“Like any kid born in 2000, LeBron was my favorite player growing up, and it’s hard for him not to be for a lot of us,” Haliburton said. “Growing up, I was a Cavs fan, then a Heat fan, then a Cavs fan again, then a Lakers fan before I got drafted. It’s just how it went. To be able to compete against him in a championship is kind of like a storybook a little bit, and it’s going to be a lot of fun. But that’s the great part about being in the NBA, getting to compete against your idols on a nightly basis. I really look forward to that.”

There’s more on the Pacers:

In tonight’s pre-game meeting with the media, coach Rick Carlisle said Andrew Nembhard has a right knee bone bruise and will be sidelined for at least the next seven days, Dopirak tweets. “We’ll see where he is and evaluate it from there, but not viewed as a long-term thing,” Carlisle said. “But we’ll miss him today.”
Before he agreed to a two-year extension in January, it appeared Myles Turner might not be part of the Pacers’ future, and there were persistent rumors during the summer of 2022 that he was headed to the Lakers. In an interview with Chris Hayes of TNT and Bleacher Report (video link), Turner stated that he’s glad things turned out the way they did and he’s eager for the team to have a high-stakes game in front of a national audience. “People getting to see what we’re about here in Indiana,” Turner said. “It’s fun seeing everything through and to say you didn’t quit.”
The financial incentive in tonight’s game will be especially important for the two-way players, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. The Pacers’ Kendall Brown, Oscar Tshiebwe and Isaiah Wong will get a half share of the prize money, which means $250K for first place and $100K for second. Two-way contracts pay $559,782 and carry a $279,891 guarantee.

Lakers Notes: Tournament, Trade Rumors, Russell, LeBron

December 9th, 2023 at 6:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers blitzed most of their competition on the way to the finals of the in-season tournament, but they haven’t encountered an offense on the level of the Pacers, whom they’ll face in tonight’s title game, writes Khobi Price of The Orange County Register. Indiana has scored 122 and 128 points in its two knockout-round contests, pushing the ball repeatedly and relying heavily on three-point shooting.

“Their pace of play is second to none,” Austin Reaves said. “They score a lot of points and are very capable of going on quick runs just with the way they shoot the ball and the way they play. Being able to transition or not – honestly, they kind of make it all transition; even if you make a shot, they get it out of the net real quick. Just being able to focus on kind of building a wall and trying to stop that.”

It’s a sharp contrast with the Lakers, who are an older team with plenty of size to overpower opponents. Price notes that the Pacers tend to allow a lot of shots in the paint and are prone to foul trouble, and coach Darvin Ham said it’s important to not let Indiana dictate the style of play.

“We can’t get so caught up in trying to stop and prevent them from doing what they like to do,” Ham said. “We will, but we also can’t forget to enforce our will upon the game, too. They have to guard us, too. Coming out with an aggressive mindset will definitely be the first and foremost thing that we do.”

There’s more on the Lakers:

The front office wants to see the full team in action for a while before getting serious about trade talks, sources tell Zach Lowe of ESPN. Jarred Vanderbilt, Cam Reddish and Rui Hachimura all returned from injuries within the past week, and Gabe Vincent remains sidelined with a left knee issue. Any deals likely won’t happen until after January 15, Lowe adds, when the last of the team’s offseason free agent signees will become eligible to be moved. L.A. has been mentioned as a possible destination for the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, but Lowe hears that management is reluctant to downgrade the team’s defense to improve its offense.
D’Angelo Russell tells Chris Haynes of TNT and Bleacher Report (video link) that the in-season tournament is providing a “cheat code” to prepare for the playoffs, saying it has a “second-round, third-round type of feel.”
In an interview with Sirius XM NBA Radio (Twitter link), Ham touts LeBron James as the front-runner for this season’s MVP honors (hat tip to Bleacher Report). “He’s spearheaded everything you see going on with our team,” Ham said. “The numbers he’s putting up. He’s impacting winning. The numbers when he’s on the floor as opposed to when he’s off the floor. … I think it’s a no-brainer.”

Poll: Which Team Will Win NBA Cup?

December 8th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament final will take place on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, as the veteran Lakers take on the upstart Pacers for the right to hold the NBA Cup — and to earn championship bonuses worth $500K per player.

The Lakers may have the home-court advantage, given Los Angeles’ proximity to Vegas and the franchise’s huge fan base, but the Pacers have earned plenty of fans of their own in recent weeks with their fast-paced, high-scoring style of play. And they’ll enter the game as the lovable underdogs looking to knock off another highly star-studded opponent after defeating Boston in the quarterfinal and Milwaukee in the semifinal.

The Pacers’ 123.5 offensive rating is easily the NBA’s best mark, as is their pace (104.13 possessions per game). Tyrese Haliburton, who is submitting an MVP-caliber season thus far, leads the attack with 26.9 points and an NBA-best 12.1 assists per game, but the Pacers have no shortage of offensive options, with six other players averaging double-digit points per night (a seventh, Jalen Smith, won’t be available on Saturday).

They’ll be going up against one of the NBA’s stoutest defenses — the Lakers’ 110.3 defensive rating is tied for sixth-best in the league. Los Angeles also holds a significant edge in big-game experience. While Haliburton and several other Pacers have never played in the postseason, LeBron James alone has 282 playoff games on his résumé.

Of course, Saturday’s game isn’t a playoff contest, and Haliburton and the Pacers certainly haven’t shied away from the spotlight so far in the in-season tournament, having talked repeatedly about how they’re embracing the rare opportunity to play for a national audience.

Both teams have taken the tournament seriously so far and that doesn’t figure to change on Saturday, with $300K on the line (the runners-up will go home with bonuses worth $200K rather than $500K).

We want to know what you think. Are you taking the Pacers or the Lakers to win the first NBA Cup?

Place your vote below, then head to the comment section below to share your predictions.

Pacers Notes: Haliburton, Turner, Trade Options, J. Smith

December 8th, 2023 at 7:24am CST by Rory Maher

One of the highlights of the NBA’s new in-season tournament has been the emergence of Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who has taken his game to new heights under the bright glare of the national spotlight. After defeating the favored Celtics in the quarterfinals on Monday, Indiana dispatched the Bucks — another Eastern contender — in the semifinals on Thursday to earn a spot in Saturday’s final, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

“Tyrese is just one of those transcendent players that with him on the court, anything is possible,” head coach Rick Carlisle said.

Haliburton’s impact on the franchise has been “rejuvenating,” according to Myles Turner, who was dissatisfied with his role in Indiana prior to the six-player February 2022 trade that sent Domantas Sabonis to Kings and Haliburton to the Pacers. Nearly two years later, Turner says that blockbuster deal with Sacramento was a win-win for the two franchises, though he gives the edge to Indiana, per Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“I think we won the trade personally, but I’m biased of course,” Turner told Amick. “I think it was mutually beneficial. (Kings guard De’Aaron) Fox got something that he needed, and I got the point guard that I needed.”

Here’s more on the Pacers:

Trading for Haliburton in February 2022 convinced Indiana to cater to his strengths by playing at an extremely fast pace, per Wes Goldberg of RealGM. “Coach allows my personality and who I am as a player to flow into our offense,” Haliburton said. “We lead the league in assists and that starts with me, but I think it’s everybody sharing the ball and wanting to see others succeed.” The Pacers currently have the top offense in the league, Goldberg notes.
Haliburton hopes to emulate Giannis Antetokounmpo, whose presence in Milwaukee put the Bucks in a better position to attract stars to a non-marquee market, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said on Thursday’s broadcast (Twitter video link). “As Haliburton said to me, ‘I’m going to get you shots, I’m going to make life easy for you, and we are going to win,'” Wojnarowski said. “And that is really Haliburton’s mission right now, is to use this tournament – use this season – to start making the case to star players around the league, ‘Come play with me in Indiana.'”
According to Wojnarowski, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has shown interest in players like Raptors forwards Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby within the last year. Indiana has the NBA’s lowest payroll this season, with plenty of moveable draft assets, and could have maximum-salary cap room in 2024, notes ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), so roster upgrades are possible. Still, one Pacers staffer who spoke to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports wondered if “this experiment is too fresh and too positive to mess with its current chemistry,” Fischer writes.
Jalen Smith, who has been battling a left knee bone bruise, will remain sidelined through Saturday’s final, Dopirak tweets. Carlisle said Smith has been limited to light running to this point. The 23-year-old backup center is having a strong season, averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 70.7% from the field through 14 games (15.4 MPG), and he could hit free agency in 2024 if he declines his $5.4MM player option for next season.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Pacers, Lakers Advance To Tournament Final

December 7th, 2023 at 11:06pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pacers and Lakers advanced to the final of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament on Thursday by defeating the Bucks and Pelicans in their respective semifinal matchups.

The championship game between the two undefeated teams (both are 6-0 in the tournament) will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday at 7:30 pm CT. The final will be the lone game of the in-season tournament that does not count towards the regular season schedule.

Indiana’s win over Milwaukee was a back-and-forth affair that came down to the final minutes, with guard Tyrese Haliburton delivering another stellar performance (27 points, 15 assists, seven rebounds, zero turnovers), including clutch baskets to seal the victory. Center Myles Turner also had a strong outing, recording 26 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.

However, the other semifinal wasn’t competitive, as Los Angeles demolished New Orleans behind a brilliant showing from LeBron James, who finished with 30 points (on 9-of-12 shooting), eight assists, five rebounds and zero turnovers in just 23 minutes. The Lakers wound up winning by 44 points.

Pelicans head coach Willie Green was understandably disappointed in his team’s effort, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic.

“Tonight was a total letdown… A lack of competitive spirit,” Green said. “Tonight, we took a step in the wrong direction.”

Players on standard contracts with the Pacers and Lakers have now secured bonuses worth at least $200K (two-way players will earn half that amount). The champs will earn $500K apiece.

The Bucks and Pelicans, meanwhile, earned bonuses of $100K per player for reaching the semifinals, but have been eliminated from contention for the first NBA Cup.

And-Ones: D. Harper, Harden, Iguodala, NBPA, Pacers/Bucks

December 7th, 2023 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

Dylan Harper, a five-star recruit who comes in at No. 2 overall in ESPN’s breakdown of the 2024 high school class, announced on Wednesday that he has committed to Rutgers for the 2024/25 college season, per Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN.

The son of five-time champion Ron Harper and the younger brother of Raptors two-way player Ron Harper Jr., Dylan is behind only Cooper Flagg in ESPN’s rankings of next year’s recruiting class. Flagg has committed to Duke, but Harper – like No. 3 prospect Airious “Ace” Bailey – will join the Scarlet Knights, whom his older brother represented from 2018-22.

“His advice to me was to pick a school that is best for me and make it your decision,” Dylan said of Ron Jr. “I saw what a great player my brother was there and how successful Rutgers was during that time. He had a great career there. He was one of the best to play at Rutgers.”

It’s a historic recruiting class for Rutgers, which typically hasn’t been a basketball powerhouse. As Borzello and Biancardi point out, prior to this year, Rutgers had landed just six total prospects on ESPN’s top-100 lists since 2007, which is when the outlet began maintaining its annual recruiting rankings. Only one of those players – Mike Rosario in 2008 – was considered a top-50 recruit.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

The NBA investigated the Sixers following 2022’s free agent period, looking into whether James Harden‘s pay cut that year came with any quid pro quo assurances, and investigated the team again earlier this year after the star guard called Daryl Morey a “liar.” Will yet another Harden-related investigation be necessary? Over at his Substack, Marc Stein says the comments Harden made to Sam Amick of The Athletic may force the league’s hand. The former MVP made two eyebrow-raising claims in that interview, telling Amick that the 76ers promised him a maximum-salary contract prior to his 2023 free agency and that his representatives met with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka while he was under contract with Philadelphia.
Andre Iguodala, who took over for Tamika Tremaglio last month as the NBPA’s acting executive director, is unsure whether or not he’s interested in keeping the position permanently, but he tells Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic that he couldn’t pass on the opportunity to lead the players’ union. “The players thought it was perfect timing, with my career ending, helping them continue to progress, continue to transition and helping out with that,” Iguodala said. “So, it was just a unique opportunity to do that. I’m indebted to the players and servicing the guys, and it was a no-brainer.”
The over-under for Thursday’s in-season tournament Eastern semifinal is 257.5 points, the highest total in an NBA game since 1991, according to David Purdum of ESPN. As we detailed earlier today, the Pacers have the NBA’s best offense and the Bucks rank third, so a shootout is anticipated. It’s the seventh game since ’91 with an over/under greater than 250, with four of those games occurring this season, Purdum notes.

Poll: Which Teams Will Win In-Season Tournament Semifinals?

December 7th, 2023 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

The semifinals of the NBA’s first-ever in-season tournament will be played on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the winners advancing to Saturday’s final.

It’s a safe bet the early game will be a shootout. The high-octane Pacers have the NBA’s best offensive rating by a significant margin at 123.6. But they give up plenty of points too — their 120.2 defensive rating ranks 28th in the league, ahead of only Charlotte and Washington.

The Bucks are poised to take advantage of the holes in Indiana’s defense. Milwaukee’s 119.2 offensive rating is the NBA’s third-best mark and the group has been firing on all cylinders as of late, putting up 132 points on Saturday vs. Atlanta and a season-high 146 in Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory over New York.

Tyrese Haliburton has perhaps been the breakout star of the in-season tournament, but he and the Pacers will be underdogs against a Bucks squad led by superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. BetOnline.ag currently lists Milwaukee as 5.5-point favorites.

Still, Indiana knocked off Boston in the quarterfinals and will perhaps benefit from what should be a neutral crowd in Las Vegas. The Pacers have a winning record away from home this season, while the Bucks are a modest 5-5 on the road.

The Lakers, on the other hand, may have a home-court edge in Thursday’s late game, given Vegas’ proximity to Los Angeles and the franchise’s sizable fan base. But they’re only favored by two points against a Pelicans team that’s as healthy now as it has been in quite some time.

While both Los Angeles and New Orleans have had to deal with injury issues during the first quarter of the 2023/24 season, they’re nearly at full strength heading into Thursday’s semifinal, with only Gabe Vincent expected to be out of action for L.A., while the Pelicans are just missing reserves Larry Nance Jr. and Matt Ryan.

Forwards LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, and Brandon Ingram – along with guard CJ McCollum – are the headliners in this matchup, and a superstar-type performance from one or two of them could ultimately decide the game, but the Lakers’ and Pelicans’ supporting casts shouldn’t be overlooked. Role players like D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, Herbert Jones, Jonas Valanciunas, and Trey Murphy are capable of being game-changing X-factors.

What do you think? Which two teams will prevail on Thursday and meet in the first-ever in-season tournament final on Saturday?

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