Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Waive Duane Washington, Three Others

July 14th, 2022 at 7:18pm CST by Rory Maher

7:18pm: The four cuts are now official, according to a press release from the Pacers.

3:15pm: The Pacers are waiving Duane Washington and using the waive-and-stretch provision on Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan and Nik Stauskas in order to create the necessary cap space to sign Deandre Ayton to a maximum-salary offer sheet, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Washington, 22, went undrafted last year after three college seasons with Ohio State. He signed a two-way contract with the Pacers and had a productive rookie season, appearing in 48 games (20.2 MPG) while averaging 9.9 PPG, 1.7 RPG and 1.8 APG on .404/.377/.754 shooting. More than half of his field goal attempts came from beyond the arc.

Washington received a promotion at the end of the season when his two-way deal was converted to a standard contract, but his salary for next season was non-guaranteed. He and the team previously agreed to push back his guarantee date from July 6 until July 15, so he’ll be released one day in advance of that deadline.

Fitts, Morgan and Stauskas were all sent to Indiana for salary-matching purposes as part of the trade that saw Malcolm Brogdon head to Boston. Each of the three players received significant guarantees on their minimum-salary contracts in order to complete the trade, but obviously none of them were part of Indiana’s long-term plans.

The stretch provision allows teams to pay players they waive over multiple years. In this case, the three salaries will be spread out over three seasons, because they were all waived between July 1 and August 31 and only had one year on their contracts.

Of the four players being waived, Washington seems like the best bet to immediately find a new team, whether it’s via waiver claim or a new deal after clearing waivers. Despite being a rookie, he had the most productive season in 2021/22, even if it was due in part to Indiana’s disappointing season that saw the team finish with a 25-57 record.

Central Notes: Ayton, Nesmith, Pacers, Ivey, Pistons

July 14th, 2022 at 12:40pm CST by Rory Maher

On a Tuesday appearance on 107.5 The Fan, ESPN’s Bobby Marks detailed a couple ways the Pacers can create enough cap space to sign Suns center Deandre Ayton, the top restricted free agent on the market, to a maximum-salary offer sheet. Indiana is currently about $26.4MM under the cap, but needs to get to $31MM to sign Ayton to a max deal.

“You’d have to waive a (non-guaranteed) player like Duane Washington Jr. and then you’d have to either make a trade or you would have to use the waive and stretch provision on a couple players, maybe the couple players you got in the Celtics trade,” Marks said, per James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. “The challenge becomes if Phoenix matches (an offer sheet for Ayton), you can’t go back and take back those waivers. So you run the risk of losing three players to waivers on an offer sheet that likely would get matched.”

Marks believes the Suns would match the deal so they wouldn’t lose Ayton for nothing, even though he wouldn’t be trade-eligible for several months. As Boyd details, the three players Marks was referring to that came from the Celtics are Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and Malik Fitts.

Boyd says Goga Bitadze might be a player the Pacers could deal away to give Ayton the offer sheet — Bitadze will make $4.765MM next season. However, as Boyd points out, the Pacers haven’t signed a restricted free agent to an offer sheet since 2013, and it was a very modest deal, relatively, for Chris Copeland.

A more viable alternative for Indiana to land Ayton might be a sign-and-trade for Myles Turner, which has been the subject of multiple rumors, but Marks wondered if Turner alone would be enough for Phoenix.

Here’s more from the Central Division:

Aaron Nesmith, another player in the trade with Boston that sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtics, said he was “completely caught off guard” when he heard the news, but the Pacers had their eye on him for a while and he’ll get a bigger opportunity with Indiana, writes Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. Indiana’s brass told Nesmith to focus on honing a specific skill set. “To play free, be a good 3-and-D guy and I could be a top-notch 3-and-D guy in this league, so that’s the focus,” Nesmith said, per Agness. “That’s what we’re going to work for and that’s what I’m going to become.”
The Pacers announced that they’re withholding first-rounder Bennedict Mathurin for the remainder of Las Vegas Summer League due to a sore left big toe. He was the No. 6 pick of last month’s draft. Second-year players Terry Taylor and Isaiah Jackson will also be out. Summer League ends on July 17, so I’m sure it’s just for precautionary reasons.
Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 pick of the draft, showed the Pistons flashes of his enormous upside in his brief Summer League action before suffering a sprained ankle, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Cade Cunningham, Detroit’s No. 1 overall pick last year, said on a recent NBA TV appearance that he was looking forward to playing with his new backcourt partner. “Definitely excited to play with him,” Cunningham said. “He’s so talented, brings so much to the team. Just the way he plays the game, trying to play the right way, trying to play for his teammates, spread the ball. It’s all exciting. Being able to take the court with him is exciting and it’s coming soon. I’m excited, man.”

Central Notes: Ball, Portis, Walton, Pacers

July 13th, 2022 at 2:11pm CST by Luke Adams

Echoing Billy Donovan‘s update on Sunday, Bulls president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said that Lonzo Ball is “progressing” from his left knee injury. However, as K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago writes, Karnisovas’ comments on Ball were somewhat sobering.

“He’s getting better. Probably not at the speed that we would like. But he’s getting better,” Karnisovas said of Ball. “Hopefully, he’s going to be ready for training camp. That’s just our hopes.”

Ball, who underwent surgery on a torn left meniscus in January, was bothered by a bone bruise when he attempted to ramp up his rehab process last season. According to Johnson, Ball has experienced “similar starts and stops” this offseason and still sometimes experiences discomfort when he increases his workload.

Here’s more from around the Central:

After years of betting on himself with shorter-term contracts and team-friendly salaries, Bucks big man Bobby Portis was thrilled to be rewarded in free agency this summer with a four-year, $48MM+ deal, as he tells Eric Nehm of The Athletic. “Finally being able to have financial security for not only myself, but my family, is great,” Portis said. “To be able to go into free agency and have a number of teams call and believe that I’m special and want me to join their team, that was cool too.” Portis added that he decided to re-sign with the Bucks in part because his two years in Milwaukee have made him not only a better player but a “better man off the court.”
New Cavaliers assistant Luke Walton spoke to Kelsey Russo of The Athletic about his decision to join J.B. Bickerstaff‘s staff in Cleveland, noting that he appreciates the level of continuity he sees in the franchise. “There’s a lot of people that are still working here that were here when I played here 10 years ago – which is rare in the NBA,” Walton said. “To me, it’s something that’s very important when you’re trying to build a winning team and a winning culture.”
We’re still waiting to see how Deandre Ayton‘s free agency will play out, but the Pacers make a lot of sense as a potential destination for the former top pick, according to Dan Devine of The Ringer. Adding Ayton would give Tyrese Haliburton an ideal pick-and-roll partner and would put Indiana on track to quickly pivot back to respectability, Devine writes.

Kevin Durant Rumors: Price Tag, Raptors, Pelicans, Warriors

July 12th, 2022 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

Reporting from the Las Vegas Summer League, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype says there’s skepticism among league insiders that a Kevin Durant trade will happen anytime soon, and a sense that the situation could linger into training camp.

According to Scotto, five executives he spoke to in Vegas felt as if Minnesota overpaid to acquire Rudy Gobert and increased the Nets‘ asking price for Durant in the process, creating a larger gap between what Brooklyn wants and what potential suitors are willing to give up. One GM told Scotto that he believes Durant is worth “a James Harden-type package.” It’s unclear if that’s a reference to the price paid for Harden by the Nets or the 76ers.

Scotto suggests it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Nets hang onto Durant for a while and wait for a “Godfather offer.” If that offer doesn’t come, the Nets may hope the former MVP changes his mind about wanting a trade and is satisfied to remain in Brooklyn at least for the time being.

Here’s more on the Durant market from Scotto:

The Raptors are still “hesitant” to include Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes in any offer for Durant, league sources tell HoopsHype. Scotto speculates that a package centered around Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. could be Toronto’s starting point, but notes that the Nets would want more. Scotto is unsure how willing the Raptors are to put OG Anunoby in a package for Durant.
According to Scotto, multiple executives are skeptical that the Pelicans will make a strong push for Durant instead of seeing how a healthy Zion Williamson meshes with the promising roster that made the playoffs in 2021/22. Scotto adds that some execs also believe Durant wouldn’t want to be dealt to New Orleans.
The Warriors wouldn’t be inclined to give up all of their promising young players – Jordan Poole, James Wiseman, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody – in a trade for Durant, says Scotto.
According to Scotto, some rival executives think the Spurs and Pacers are preserving their remaining cap room to see if they can be a salary-dumping ground in a multi-team Durant trade, netting draft assets in the process.

Pacers Notes: Nesmith, Cap, Brissett, Sabonis, Taylor

July 12th, 2022 at 7:55am CST by Luke Adams

Malcolm Brogdon has passed his physical with the Celtics, clearing the way for Aaron Nesmith to officially join the Pacers‘ Summer League team, a league source tells James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star. With the Pacers/Celtics trade that sent Nesmith to Indiana officially irreversible, the former lottery pick could make his Summer League debut with the Pacers as soon as Tuesday, Boyd writes.

The completion of the Brogdon deal also clears a few extra million dollars in cap space for the Pacers, who reportedly have their eye on restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton.

Indiana doesn’t have quite enough cap room to make Ayton a maximum-salary offer, but the team is close to getting there. The Pacers also could be attempting to work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Suns so they don’t have to worry about the possibility of Phoenix matching an offer sheet.

As we wait to see what happens on the Ayton front, let’s round up a few more Pacers-related items…

The Pacers decided to pick up Oshae Brissett‘s team option in June rather than declining it to negotiate a longer-term contract with the young swingman as a restricted free agent. However, Brissett tells Boyd that he wasn’t bothered by that decision and still hopes to re-sign with the team in unrestricted free agency next summer. “They believed in me when no one else did, so whatever they had on the table I was really ready (to accept) and come back and give it my all for this year,” he said. “I want to be here long term, so I know next year, whatever happens, Indiana’s always gonna be my No. 1 option to be back. The fans and the team have welcomed me with open arms and I’ll never forget that.”
Former Pacers center Domantas Sabonis told Boyd that being traded from Indiana to Sacramento was “hard” and that he expects to have “a lot of emotions” when he plays in Indiana for the first time as a King. “I love Indiana,” Sabonis said. “That was basically my first real NBA experience. I spent one year in OKC and then got traded, so that was my home for a long time, you know?”
After having his salary guaranteed for 2022/23, Terry Taylor spoke to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files about the role he envisions himself playing for the Pacers next season. “I think I can come in and do the little things to help the team, like play defense, be a versatile defender, crash the offensive glass like I usually do,” Taylor said. “And just be tough-minded and do all the dirty plays that nobody else wants to do.”

Pacers Continue To Eye Deandre Ayton

July 11th, 2022 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly 11 full days since the NBA’s 2022 free agent period opened, and Suns restricted free agent center Deandre Ayton still doesn’t have a new deal in place. However, it’s possible that will change soon.

Sources told Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic over the weekend that the Pacers are “seriously” interested in Ayton. Indiana’s interest in the former No. 1 overall pick has been reported repeatedly in recent weeks, but it’s notable that the team’s interest hasn’t waned — the Pacers are one of just two teams in the NBA (along with the Spurs) that have the cap flexibility necessary to make Ayton a significant offer.

According to Marc Stein (Twitter link), there’s “great interest” among league insiders in Las Vegas about whether the Pacers will move forward with what Stein refers to as a “widely anticipated” offer sheet for Ayton. Appearing on ESPN’s Get Up (video link) on Monday, Brian Windhorst also expressed a belief that Indiana is on the verge of making a play for the young center.

“We believe that the Indiana Pacers are very close to giving Deandre Ayton an offer sheet or executing a sign-and-trade,” Windhorst said. “The Pacers had to do some business over the weekend and complete the Malcolm Brogdon trade. That is now on the verge of happening and that is opening enough cap space to almost give Deandre Ayton the max contract he is looking for. We could see something with the Pacers and Ayton as early as today.”

As James Boyd of The Indianapolis Star writes, while the Pacers and Celtics announced their trade on Saturday, Brogdon still technically has to pass his physical before the deal is officially irreversible. At that point, Indiana will have approximately $26.4MM in cap room.

Ayton’s maximum salary is about $30.9MM, so Indiana would have to waive-and-stretch multiple players or trade someone to open up a max-salary slot. The team could also present Ayton with an offer sheet that’s a little below the max, but it’s not clear whether he’d be willing to sign such an offer. And of course, the lower the starting salary in an offer sheet, the more likely the Suns are to match it.

A sign-and-trade deal in which Indiana sends out a player or two could potentially get everyone what they want — Ayton could get his max salary, the Pacers could get their man without having to worry about an offer sheet being matched, and the Suns could avoid losing their former top pick for nothing. Myles Turner would be the most obvious trade candidate in that scenario.

However, signing-and-trading Ayton to Indiana would deprive Phoenix of one of its top assets for a potential Kevin Durant trade, so the Suns will likely drive a hard bargain with the Pacers, knowing that if they don’t get a sign-and-trade offer they like, they could simply match any offer sheet Ayton signs.

Still, that may not be an ideal outcome for the Suns, who reportedly aren’t enthusiastic about paying Ayton max money. Additionally, if they were to match an offer sheet, the Suns wouldn’t be able to trade Ayton until January 15, and even then, any deal this season would require his consent.

With so many variables in play, every involved party will have to weigh its options carefully before moving forward. But it sounds like we could get action on the Ayton front sooner rather than later.

Lakers Rumors: Irving, Hield, Gordon, Turner, LeBron

July 9th, 2022 at 10:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Lakers continue to focus on Kyrie Irving, but it’s unlikely that the Nets will give him up without at least one first-round pick in return, Marc Stein writes in his latest column for Substack. Irving was in L.A. this week to watch the WNBA’s Sparks, which Stein characterizes as making “his current presence in Los Angeles loudly known.”

Although Irving would clearly like to reunite with former teammate LeBron James, Stein says the Lakers aren’t making any promises behind the scenes. General manager Rob Pelinka said in a TV interview Friday that he’s still working to upgrade the roster, but league rules prevent him from speaking specifically about a possible deal for Irving.

The Lakers’ concerns about overspending could be a major obstacle to getting a trade done, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated explained on Ryen Rusillo’s podcast (hat tip to Eric Eulau of SI’s Lakers page). Although they’re among the highest-valued teams in the NBA, Mannix calls the Lakers “a mom-and-pop organization masquerading as a multi-billion dollar franchise” and says they’re reluctant to assume all the costs that would be necessary to convince Brooklyn to make a deal.

“There’s not a huge appetite in L.A. at this point to take on all the money they’re going to have to take on to be a deeper-into-the-luxury-tax team and fork over a first-round pick in return,” Mannix said. “As long as that is the asking price, the Lakers are not going to get their hands on Kyrie Irving.”

There’s more from Los Angeles:

Pelinka’s next priority will be to find more shooters, Stein adds in the same piece. The Lakers have been linked to the Pacers‘ Buddy Hield and the Rockets‘ Eric Gordon, who were both clients of Pelinka when he was an agent.
A source tells Stein that L.A. probably doesn’t have enough assets to get both Hield and Myles Turner from Indiana. Reports have described them as “prime targets” if the Lakers can’t put together a deal for Irving.
Pelinka’s willingness to meet Brooklyn’s price for Irving could be influenced by James’ upcoming extension date, Stein adds. Starting August 4, James will be eligible to sign a two-year extension worth about $100MM, and Stein suggests that Pelinka might want to have a major deal in place by then to ensure that his star player is happy.

Central Notes: Pacers, Sexton, Rubio, Bulls

July 9th, 2022 at 6:09pm CST by Luke Adams

As part of the trade sending Malcolm Brogdon to Boston, new Pacers Nik Stauskas, Juwan Morgan, and Malik Fitts all received significant partial guarantees on their minimum-salary contracts for 2022/23.

Stauskas had $2,106,932 of his salary guaranteed, while Morgan received a partial guarantee of $1,728,689 and Fitts got $1,665,650, Hoops Rumors has learned. Each amount is exactly $86,988 below the player’s full salary.

When added to Daniel Theis‘ $8,694,369 salary and Aaron Nesmith‘s $3,804,360 salary, those partial guarantees total $18MM. That was precisely the amount the Celtics needed to send out to in order to legally match Brogdon’s incoming $22.6MM salary — Boston was able to take back up to 125% of that outgoing $18MM, plus $100K.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com spoke to a team source who is “quite confident” that Collin Sexton will remain with the Cavaliers going forward, either as a result of a new agreement between the two sides or the guard accepting his qualifying offer.
Ricky Rubio‘s new three-year contract with the Cavaliers is fully guaranteed in the first two years and features a partial guarantee in year three, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Rubio’s partial guarantee in 2024/25 is $4.25MM of a $6.44MM salary.
Patrick Williams‘ potential for further growth will be crucial if the Bulls hope to increase their ceiling, according to Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times, who wonders if 2022 first-rounder Dalen Terry could help Williams realize his upside. As Cowley explains, Terry pushed Williams hard in Summer League practices and the two engaged in some competitive banter during those sessions.

Pacers Trade Malcolm Brogdon To Celtics

July 9th, 2022 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 9: The Celtics’ deal with the Pacers for Brogdon is now official, per an Indiana press release.

JULY 1: The Pacers have agreed to trade veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtics, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

The deal will send center Daniel Theis, wing Aaron Nesmith, and a 2023 first-round pick to Indiana, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts, and Juwan Morgan are also headed to the Pacers in the swap, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).

The 2023 first-round pick the Pacers are acquiring in the trade will be top-12 protected, tweets Brian Robb of MassLive. If it doesn’t convey, Indiana will instead receive a second-rounder.

The Celtics wanted to acquire a “true play-making guard,” Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), and were able to do so without including any of their core players in the package. Brogdon has battled injuries frequently over the course of his six-year career, but has been effective on both ends of the court when healthy.

In 2021/22, the 29-year-old averaged 19.1 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 5.1 RPG in 36 games (33.5 MPG) for the Pacers. Brogdon’s three-point percentage dipped to 31.2% last season, but he’s still a 37.6% career shooter from beyond the arc.

Although Brogdon’s name has come up frequently in trade rumors this offseason, he was primarily linked to the Wizards and Knicks in the weeks leading up to the draft. Washington addressed its point guard hole by agreeing to acquire Monte Morris and sign Delon Wright, while New York landed Jalen Brunson in free agency. That opened the door for another Eastern Conference club to make a deal with the Pacers.

Brogdon will earn $67.6MM over the next three seasons, including $22.6MM in 2022/23. In order to match his salary and make the trade legal, the Celtics will have to include five players in their package — the priciest of those players, Theis, is making $8.69MM next season, while Nesmith will earn $3.8MM. Stauskas, Fitts, and Morgan were on non-guaranteed minimum-salary contracts, which will become guaranteed for matching purposes, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

The Celtics, who also reportedly agreed to sign Danilo Gallinari, now have about $167.5MM committed to 11 players, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter link), so team ownership doesn’t appear worried about paying a tax bill in 2022/23. Depending on how deep into the tax Boston is willing to go, the club could also make use of its $17MM trade exception, which won’t be utilized in this deal.

The Pacers, meanwhile, had interest in Grant Williams, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report (Twitter link), but were ultimately willing to accept for a Celtics’ 2023 first-round pick that could land pretty late in the 20s.

Indiana may also see value in Theis and Nesmith, but the deal is more about the first-rounder and the cap flexibility moving off Brogdon will create. In addition to clearing some long-term money, the Pacers now have about $31MM in projected cap room this summer, tweets Marks.

The two teams will have to wait until July 9 to officially complete the trade, Marks notes (via Twitter), since Morgan can’t be dealt until then.

Pacers Guarantee Terry Taylor’s 2022/23 Contract

July 9th, 2022 at 3:04pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Second-year Pacers shooting guard Terry Taylor‘s $1,563,518 salary for the 2022/23 season has been fully guaranteed by Indiana, per Tony East of Forbes (Twitter link).

Taylor, now 22, went undrafted out of Austin Peay State University in 2021. He first latched on with Indiana on an Exhibit 10 deal during the 2021 offseason. The team waived him in October before inking him to a two-way contract. The 6’5″ wing was subsequently promoted to the team’s 15-man roster this spring, alongside two-way point guard Duane Washington.

Across 33 games in 2021/22, Taylor enjoyed a productive rookie season off the bench for a lottery-bound Pacers club. He averaged 9.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 1.2 APG across 21.6 MPG. He connected on 61.4% of his 6.7 field goal looks and 70.6% of his 1.5 charity stripe attempts.

In 14 contests while with the Pacers’ NBAGL affiliate club, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, on his two-way contract, Taylor’s numbers were even more impressive. He averaged 18.9 PPG, 12.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 SPG and 1.0 BPG, while making 67.4% of his field goals and 77.3% of his free throws.

Taylor’s 2022/23 salary was already partially guaranteed for $625K and was on track to become fully guaranteed if he remained under contract through Sunday — it appears the Pacers made their decision a little early.