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2018 Free Agent Stock Watch: Indiana Pacers

March 2nd, 2018 at 5:55pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pacers are in an enviable position mere months after it seemed like they were doomed to a long and challenging rebuild. The breakout seasons enjoyed by Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis have helped distract from the absence of Paul George while the all-around contributions of an unheralded, cohesive veteran lineup has put Indiana firmly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

The Pacers didn’t make a major splash at the trade deadline and were even asked specifically by players to avoid tinkering with the chemistry in the locker room. While it’s hard to argue that the franchise made the wrong call standing pat with a roster that’s punched above its weight on a nightly basis, the Pacers have a long road ahead of them before they’re considered serious challengers, even in the East.

It’s refreshing to see a team build anew without bottoming out. Solid drafting and some responsible payroll management will help them climb to the next rung on the ladder.Cory Joseph vertical

Cory Joseph, PG, 26 (Up) – Signed to a four-year, $29.9MM contract in 2017
Joseph has thrived as the younger half of a point guard tandem charged with the task of helping the Pacers play a faster style of basketball. While he’s ceded the majority of the starts so far this season to Darren Collison, Joseph is a solid rotation piece and possible future starter. It’s likely we’ve already caught a glimpse of his ceiling, so the former Raptors probably won’t draw major money on the open market. That being said, it’s hard to imagine he couldn’t procure a raise if he turns down his 2018/19 player option worth just less than $8MM.

Glenn Robinson III, SF, 24 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $3.4MM contract in 2015
After breaking into Indy’s rotation in 2016/17, an ankle injury put Robinson III’s latest campaign on hold until after the All-Star Game. The Pacers may see some upside in the former second-round pick, and likely won’t have to outbid many competitors to retain his services should they wish to do so. Assuming the swingman’s health holds up in the final stretch of 2017/18, expect the club to lock him in for at least a few more seasons at an affordable rate. At this stage in the game, the Pacers can justify the low-risk, medium-reward lottery ticket.

Lance Stephenson, SG, 27 (Up) – Signed to a three-year, $12.6MM deal in 2017
While Stephenson’s career took a turn for the worse after he flew the coop in 2014, his return to Indiana has helped restore his value as a professional basketball player. The 27-year-old may not be the irreplaceable triple-double machine the Hornets hoped he would be when they poached him from Indiana four years ago, but he’s a solid rotation piece whose contributions to the Pacers franchise are both mysterious and intangible. Expect the club to bring their enigmatic swingman back on his dirt-cheap $4.4MM team option.

Joe Young, PG, 26 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $5.1MM deal in 2015
The Pacers have never seemed particularly intent on working Young into their rotation. While you could argue that a consistently competitive squad like Indiana may be inherently reluctant to throw big minutes at an inexperienced point guard, he only topped the 20-minute plateau four times during his first two years in the league. The 25-year-old has seen an uptick in usage since Collison went down with a knee injury in early February, but the club may be better off turning down his team option and seeing what else they could do with the roster spot.

Thaddeus Young, PF, 30 (Down) – Signed to a four-year, $53.9MM deal in 2015
Young has established himself as a critical component of this Pacers team and fills the role of do-everything veteran forward admirably. While the almost-30-year-old’s services would be welcomed by several other contending teams, it’s hard to imagine Young’s camp being all that confident they’d land more than $13.8MM in a bear market. If Indiana was knee deep in the turbulent rebuild many expected, it would make sense for Young to take that chance, but given that the opposite is true, I anticipate him accepting the 2018/19 player option and returning as a leader on and off the court.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Lowe’s Latest: Cavs, Jordan, Magic, Nuggets, Sixers

February 6th, 2018 at 9:24am CST by Luke Adams

On Monday, we rounded up some of the highlights from a Lowe Post podcast featuring ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Adrian Wojnarowski. Late last night, Lowe published an extensive look at the trade market at ESPN.com, following up on some of the scuttlebutt he shared in that podcast. While there are a few repeated items with Lowe’s piece, he also has plenty of new notes for us as Thursday’s trade deadline approaches. Let’s dive in…

  • Lowe views Marc Gasol as a target that would make sense for the Cavaliers if they’re willing to trade the Nets’ 2018 first-rounder. However, he notes that the Grizzlies seem satisfied to stand pat, and the two teams haven’t discussed Gasol. Rival executives also say that the Cavs continue to act as if they won’t trade the Brooklyn pick.
  • Outside of the teams already known to have expressed interest in DeAndre Jordan – such as the Rockets, Bucks, and Trail Blazers – the Wizards are another club that has looked into the Clippers center, says Lowe. However, despite investigating the market for Jordan, Washington hasn’t gained any momentum toward a deal.
  • Every Magic player except for Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac is “readily available,” sources tell Lowe. Most people around the league think that Elfrid Payton will be playing somewhere besides Orlando next season, Lowe adds.
  • As Lowe observes, Nuggets may not be able to afford Will Barton‘s next contract, but the team appears okay with holding onto him through the deadline and risking losing him for nothing this summer. Denver also remains on the lookout for point guards, having kicked the tires on Pacers backup Cory Joseph, per Lowe. However, potential targets like Joseph and Garrett Temple may not be viable due to the guaranteed 2018/19 money on their contracts.
  • The Sixers are approaching the trade deadline as buyers, but no longer have as many extra first-round draft picks as they’ve had in recent years, so they may only willing to dangle second-rounders, says Lowe.
  • According to Lowe, the Timberwolves have been very cautious about discussing the 2018 first-rounder they’ll get from the Thunder, since they recognize they’ll need cheap players to fill out the roster as Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns get very expensive.
  • The Warriors remain on the lookout for bench help — they inquired on Avery Bradley, but got nowhere, league sources tell Lowe.
  • The Heat don’t appear to have traction on any major deals, according to Lowe.
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Pacers Guard Darren Collison Out 2-3 Weeks

February 5th, 2018 at 4:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers guard Darren Collison will undergo arthroscopic left knee surgery and miss 2-3 weeks, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering Collison hadn’t missed any recent game action. He played 33 minutes against the Sixers on Saturday and 30 minutes the previous night against the Hornets.

Collison has started 52 of a possible 54 games for Indiana this season, averaging 12.8 PPG and 5.3 APG for a team that appears headed for a playoff berth. In his absence, Cory Joseph and Joe Young will likely pick up his minutes.

This could scuttle any trade talk involving Collison. The Nuggets were reportedly very interested in Collison’s services. Collison signed a two-year, $20MM contract over the summer but the second year isn’t guaranteed.

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Central Notes: Dunn, Wade, Joseph

November 24th, 2017 at 6:07pm CST by Austin Kent

Without much of an opportunity to show what he was capable of as a rookie, Kris Dunn‘s production with the Bulls in his sophomore season has been particularly intriguing. As Spencer Davies of Basketball Insiders writes, Dunn has been given a larger role than he saw with the Timberwolves and that’s paying off on both sides of the ball.

Not only has Dunn’s playing time increased with the Bulls, his role in the offense has too. The guard is averaging three-times the field-goal attempts that he put up last season and his percentage has climbed with increased usage.

Davies also notes that Dunn’s presence has had a drastic impact on the Bulls’ defensive success. While the team struggles in general with their defense, the club allows 6.9 fewer points per possession when Dunn is on the floor.

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Cavaliers would consider moving Tristan Thompson for DeAndre Jordan if such an opportunity presented itself, Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com writes in a question-and-answer with readers but the Cavs wouldn’t likely seriously pursue the Clippers big man unless they were convinced he was the missing piece necessary to take down Golden State.
  • Bench anchor Dwyane Wade is enjoying his time with the Cavaliers‘ second-unit, Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com writes. The 35-year-old has embraced the role of guiding the team’s attack off the pine.
  • The Pacers had long envied Cory Joseph before acquiring him this past offseason, Michael Grange of Sportsnet writes. “We’re very pleased with Cory. He’s always been a guy I’ve liked since he was playing in San Antonio and couple of years ago he had a real good series against us, played really well and was a big factor in the playoffs against us,” head coach Nate McMillan said, as the guard made his first appearance in Toronto following the deal.
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Central Notes: Pacers, Bell, Bulls

October 19th, 2017 at 4:28pm CST by Austin Kent

The Pacers have made a concerted effort to play a faster tempo and managed to do just that thanks to their new-look backcourt spearheaded by Victor Oladipo. As Clifton Brown of the Indianapolis Star writes, Indiana managed to up their pace eventually outrunning their opening day opponent altogether.

While Oladipo led the squad in scoring with 22 points in Indiana’s first game, he wasn’t the only guard to post an impressive stat line. Veteran Darren Collison added 21 and 11 of his own while reserve guard Cory Joseph – plucked from the Raptors this offseason – put in 11 points and 4 assists of his own for the victorious Pacers.

“[Pacers coach] Nate MacMillan’s done an unbelievable job of letting us take the onus as point guards and kind of let us run the show,” Collison said. “He was a point guard himself. He knows what it’s like to let us see the game, instead of micromanaging every single play. If we can play like that, call a guard game, play with one another, we’ll be alright.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

  • The Bulls have gotten flak for, among other things, selling second-round pick Jordan Bell to the Warriors. Cody Westerlund of 670 The Score tweets that VP of basketball operations John Paxson said that he was “building up equity” with ownership when he sold the No. 38 pick to Golden State for $3.5MM.
  • After a down year besieged by injuries in 2016/17, Reggie Jackson has recovered and returned to the court for the Pistons. He’s “only going to get better as time goes on” head coach Stan Van Gundy told the media, Brendan Savage of MLive included.
  • The Bulls are looking to regroup after a fight in practice set the team into chaos before the season even began. Sam Smith of the team’s official website offers an inside account of what happened and what comes next.
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Pacers Rumors: Joseph, Seraphin, Final Roster Spot

July 17th, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers have already expressed their desire to re-sign Cory Joseph to a long-term deal, Nate Taylor of the Indianapolis Star reports. Indiana reached an agreement to acquire Joseph from the Raptors in a sign-and-trade swap involving swingman C.J. Miles. Joseph will make $7.63MM next season and can opt out of the final year of his contract next summer, which would leave $7.95MM on table.  ‘The great thing is we were able to obtain him and now we’ll start the relationship,” team president Kevin Pritchard said. “We want to reset our culture. … We’ll have the opportunity to early renegotiate as well.” The team believes Joseph can be the long-term solution at point guard, though the team also signed Darren Collison as a free agent, Taylor adds. Joseph averaged 12.2 points and five assists in 22 games when Kyle Lowry was injured last season.

  • Pritchard indicated the Pacers have 14 guaranteed contracts, which apparently means they will guaranteed Kevin Seraphin‘s contract for next season, Taylor tweets. The team has until Aug. 1st to decide whether to guarantee Seraphin’s $1,974,159 salary.  The power forward appeared in 49 games with Indiana last season, averaging 4.7 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 11.4 MPG.
  • Pritchard hinted that three players will compete for the 15th and last roster spot, Taylor reports in a separate tweet. Pritchard said there would be 17 players on the training camp roster and the final spot would be determined in camp.
  • Joseph is focused on improving his 3-point shooting, according to Mark Montieth of Pacers.com. He made 35.6% of his long-range attempts last season but his career average is 31.7%. “I’m working on it every day,” he told Montieth. “Right now, that’s my next step, to get that better. I’ll continue to work on it and get better at it.”
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Raptors, Pacers Finalize Cory Joseph Trade

July 14th, 2017 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have officially sent Cory Joseph to the Pacers in a trade, the team announced today in a press release. In exchange for Joseph, Toronto acquired the draft rights to forward Emir Preldzic.Cory Joseph vertical

“We are very excited to acquire Cory,” Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in his team’s announcement of the trade. “He has been on our radar for a while. With Darren Collison and Cory we have two solid, veteran point guards who fit our culture of playing hard and unselfish.”

Joseph was previously reported to be part of a swap that would send Miles to the Raptors in a sign-and-trade. However, Miles’ three-year contract was set to include a player option, and the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement prohibits third-year options on contracts completed in sign-and-trade deals.

As such, the Raptors will trade Joseph and sign Miles in separate transactions. Toronto will sign Miles using the mid-level exception, which starts at $8.406MM. By splitting up the transactions, the Raptors will no longer be able to retain that MLE for another signing, but they’ll pick up another traded player exception instead. After getting a $11.8MM TPE in their DeMarre Carroll deal with the Nets, the Raptors will create a trade exception worth Joseph’s salary ($7.63MM) in today’s swap.

Moving Joseph to Indiana before signing Miles will help the Raptors stay out of luxury tax territory for now. Joseph, who turns 26 next month, played in 80 games for the Raptors last season, averaging 9.3 PPG and 3.3 APG. He’ll team with the newly-signed Collison as Indiana looks to replace Jeff Teague at the point guard position.

Joseph’s contract includes a player option worth $7.945MM for 2018/19, so he could hit the free agent market a year from now if he has a solid season with the Pacers.

As for Preldzic, the 29-year-old forward was the 57th overall pick in the 2009 draft and has remained overseas since then. At this point, he seems unlikely to make the jump stateside, so his NBA rights were likely just included in the deal because each team has to send out something in a trade. This is the fourth time Preldzic’s rights have been traded since he was drafted.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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C.J. Miles Headed To Toronto In Sign-And-Trade

July 9th, 2017 at 12:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

NBA: Indiana Pacers at Washington WizardsThe Pacers and Raptors have agreed to a sign-and-trade deal that will send free agent C.J. Miles to Toronto, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com. Miles will sign a three-year deal with the Raptors worth about $25MM that contains a player option for the final season.

The trade cannot be completed until Toronto moves some salary by sending DeMarre Carroll to Brooklyn, Wojnarowski notes (Twitter link). That deal is contingent on the Wizards matching the Nets’ offer sheet to Otto Porter, which they have announced they will do. However, provisions for Porter’s physical could delay the matching process to as late as Wednesday.

The Miles trade will send point guard Cory Joseph to Indiana in return, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link).

Joseph, who turns 26 next month, played in 80 games for the Raptors last season, averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 assists, mostly as a combo guard off the bench. He will make $7.66MM next season and has a player option worth $8MM for 2018/19. He’ll team with newly-signed Darren Collison as Indiana looks to replace Jeff Teague at the point guard position.

Miles, a 30-year-old swingman, will serve as a replacement for Carroll and provide Toronto with some additional outside shooting. A 12-year veteran, Miles is coming off another productive season — in 76 games, he averaged 10.7 points and 3.0 rebounds, and shot a career-best 41.3% on three-pointers. He will be getting a raise from the $4.58MM he made last season.

The Raptors will be hard-capped at $125.266MM for the 2017/18 league year as a result of acquiring a player in a sign-and-trade deal, and may also have to rely on a pair of youngsters – Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet – as the backup point guards behind Kyle Lowry.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Raptors, Pacers Discuss Cory Joseph Trade

July 2nd, 2017 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

11:19am: The Raptors are seeking draft-pick compensation in exchange for Joseph in talks with the Pacers, writes Scotto in his full report for Basketball Insiders. With Ibaka returning to Toronto and Lowry a good bet to follow suit, the club is looking to clear salary.

10:13am: The Raptors and Pacers are engaged in discussions on Joseph, Chris Haynes of ESPN.com confirms (via Twitter).

9:53am: The Raptors have had discussions about a trade that would send point guard Cory Joseph to Indiana, reports Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). Based on the wording of Scotto’s report, it’s possible those discussions are simply internal ones for the Raptors, but I would imagine both teams have been involved in the talks.

Joseph, who will turn 26 next month, has played for the Raptors since 2015 after spending the first four years of his NBA career in San Antonio. He has steadily increased his production along with his playing time in each of his NBA seasons, averaging new career bests in PPG (9.3) and APG (3.3) with a .452/.356/.770 shooting line last season. Primarily a backup for Kyle Lowry in Toronto, Joseph stepped into the starting lineup down the stretch when Lowry was sidelined with a wrist injury.

If the Raptors are willing to consider moving Joseph, it may be a sign that the team believes Lowry will return. We heard on Saturday night that there’s a “growing sense” among NBA executives that the star point guard will remain in Toronto. If the Raps end up re-signing Lowry and trading Joseph, the team would likely lean on youngsters Delon Wright and Fred VanVleet as its backups at the point.

As for the Pacers, they’re in the market for point guard help after losing Jeff Teague, who has committed to sign with the Timberwolves. One report this weekend suggested Indiana is targeting players who haven’t necessarily reached their full potential with their current teams — Joseph, who has been solid but unspectacular for the Spurs and Raptors, may fit that bill.

Joseph, who will earn $7.63MM in 2017/18, has one guaranteed year left on his deal, with a $7.945MM player option for 2018/19. Moving his contract could help Toronto avoid going way over the tax line if the club reaches new deals with Lowry and Serge Ibaka.

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Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Nets, Joseph, Knicks

May 9th, 2017 at 2:47pm CST by Luke Adams

The latest piece from TNT’s David Aldridge of NBA.com is ostensibly about the Celtics/Wizards series, but the story also looks ahead to the coming offseason, particularly with respect to Boston’s plans. According to Aldridge, many people around the NBA believe that Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge was – and still is – “determined” to keep the Nets‘ 2017 first-round pick, which could give him the opportunity to draft a top point guard prospect.

We’ll see if Ainge remains as determined to keep that pick if it doesn’t land in the top two, or if it becomes trade bait at that point. But drafting Markelle Fultz or Lonzo Ball would give the Celtics a strong insurance policy in the event that the team wavers on committing to Isaiah Thomas for the long term.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the Atlantic…

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