T.J. McConnell Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Central Notes: Crowder, Pacers, J. Johnson, Osman

January 6th, 2024 at 8:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bucks forward Jae Crowder is nearing his return after being sidelined since tearing his left adductor muscle in a November 11 game, writes Jim Owczarski of The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Crowder underwent surgery three days later and has been steadily increasing his activity level, with three five-on-five practice sessions upcoming this week.

“I did have a set target to get to this point,” Crowder said, “and I pushed myself to get to this point and took care of my body and tried to do the things I needed to do while I’m away from the medical staff, while I’m at home doing the little stuff that I needed to do to get myself back to where I need to be.”

Crowder had been dealing with an adductor issue since the first week of training camp, so the surgery eliminated the pain he was playing through in the early part of the season. He hopes to return soon to boost Milwaukee’s defense, which currently ranks 22nd in the league. He’ll spend some practice time with the G League Wisconsin Herd as he works his way back, and although a target date hasn’t been set, Crowder believes he’ll know when he’s ready.

“I just want to get back to feeling what I want, what I need to feel,” he said. “I think ultimately that I’ll be better. I think I’ll be better than I was before pre-injury, honestly. Just taking on the challenges of what we need to do, like helping these guys, taking on that matchup of stopping the best offensive player. I think I’ll be much better off than I was before and I felt like I was doing a decent job at it before.”

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The Pacers are interested in “just about every starting power forward possible,” Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said in an interview with The Trade Deadline (video link), adding that Indiana was pursing OG Anunoby before Toronto traded him to the Knicks. Fischer confirms that Buddy Hield is available after he failed to reach an extension with the team last summer, but says the Pacers have “pretty much rebuffed any teams’ interest in T.J. McConnell.”
The Pacers were hoping to re-sign James Johnson after last season, but they didn’t have an open roster spot until they reached a buyout agreement with Daniel Theis in mid-November, per Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (subscription required). “We had talked about it really since the exit meetings last year,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “With the moves that were made early in July, we were gonna have 15 guaranteed contracts. Just weren’t sure about bringing him into camp and then having to cut him if it was going to be that kind of situation.”
After being traded to the Spurs last summer, Cedi Osman still has fond memories of Cleveland, according to Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. Osman will make his return to the city on Sunday as his new team takes on the Cavaliers. “They really do care about their sports teams, with the Guardians, the Browns, the Cavs,” Osman said. “I always felt their support during games, even during a bad stretch. In my second and third year when we were kind of rebuilding, they were supporting us no matter what.”

Rick Carlisle: Pacers’ Defensive Performance “Not Acceptable”

December 19th, 2023 at 2:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers lost their fourth consecutive game on Monday, giving up 151 points to the Clippers in a performance that head coach Rick Carlisle referred to as “ugly” and “not acceptable,” per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

While Indiana’s high-powered, fast-paced offense had led the NBA in scoring, Carlisle isn’t happy with what he has seen from his club on the other end of the court. No team has given up more points per game (127.0) or has a worse defensive rating (121.4) than the Pacers, and Carlisle believes that his top players need to do a better job setting an example on defense.

“Our best players have to understand, and they have to believe, that the little things are important,” Carlisle said. “That concentration and focus are extremely important. … That creates the culture that we need to have here and obviously, we’re not there yet.”

As exciting as the Pacers’ offense, led by dark-horse MVP candidate Tyrese Haliburton, has been so far this season, Carlisle suggested after Monday’s game that he’s willing to alter the team’s style of play if it will help Indiana improve defensively, Dopirak writes.

“The Pacers aren’t sneaking up on anybody, and if our mindset has shifted to just simply trying to outscore teams and away from any kind of emphasis defensively, that’s got to stop,” Carlisle said. “If it means massive lineup changes, then that’s what will happen. If it means playing a slowdown game, that’s what will happen. At some point, there aren’t any excuses.”

Haliburton is enjoying a career year offensively, putting up 24.9 points and 11.9 assists per game while posting a scorching-hot shooting line of .507/.429/.869, but he’s aware the club needs to improve on the defensive end.

“Something has to be figured out, I don’t know what it is,” Haliburton said. “It’s pretty obvious it’s been awful for 25 games. That starts with our first unit.”

As Dopirak observes, there’s not necessarily one obvious change the Pacers could make to their starting lineup. Haliburton almost certainly won’t be moved to the bench; Myles Turner (who missed Monday’s loss) and Bruce Brown are solid defensive players; Buddy Hield provides crucial floor-spacing; and Obi Toppin has made a league-best 76.9% of his two-point shots this fall (and is hitting 38.3% of his threes too).

It’s possible Carlisle will make a move involving Hield or Toppin. During his media session on Monday, he didn’t specify his plans or guarantee that a lineup change is coming, though he did single out a pair of reserves whose defensive effort he appreciates.

“We had two guys tonight who have a reputation for always competing at a high level,” Carlisle said. “(Aaron Nesmith) was a flat zero in a plus-minus and (T.J. McConnell) was a +16. So there you go. Those guys are setting the kind of example that we’re gonna stand for here.”

As Dopirak observes, while players like Brown and Nesmith are solid wing defenders, neither one has the size to match up with bigger scoring forwards. That’s presumably one key reason why the Pacers have been linked to potential trade targets such as Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby as of late. But with no guarantee of acquiring an impact forward in a trade by the February 8 trade deadline, the team will focus for now on internal improvement.

“We’re gonna practice (on Tuesday), we’re gonna tape up and we’re gonna go,” Carlisle said, referring to players taping up their ankles. “We’re gonna go hard. We’re gonna get back in the gym and compete. We haven’t had a taped practice in, I don’t remember the last time. And we desperately need it.”

Eastern Rumors: LaVine, Bulls, Raptors, Pacers, Sixers

December 15th, 2023 at 11:16am CST by Luke Adams

It has been difficult to sift through the noise in the rumor mill to determine which teams might actually be legitimate suitors for Zach LaVine, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, who notes that while the Sixers and Lakers have frequently been mentioned as possibilities, their level of interest in the Bulls guard is unclear.

Teams like the 76ers, Knicks, and Heat haven’t seriously engaged or shown real interest in LaVine, says K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that the Lakers are believed to be LaVine’s preference in the event of a trade, but we don’t have a sense of whether that interest is reciprocated.

As Fischer writes – and as Cowley previously suggested – if the Bulls are going to move LaVine, they’d ideally like to do it well in advance of February’s deadline in order to give them time to evaluate their new-look roster before deciding on whether or not to trade more players, such as DeMar DeRozan or Alex Caruso.

However, LaVine’s injury history was already considered a red flag for potential suitors, and the fact that he’s currently on the shelf due to a foot issue only lends credence to that concern, Fischer notes. On top of that, the Bulls’ asking price is believed to be high, consisting of an established starter, a young player with upside, and first-round draft capital, sources tell Fischer. It remains to be seen whether any team is willing to put a package like that on the table.

According to Fischer, the Bulls have also explored the possibility of trying to move LaVine in a deal for another All-Star level player. They attempted to pitch the Cavaliers on a swap that would have sent point guard Darius Garland to Chicago, sources tell Yahoo Sports. Presumably, Cleveland didn’t have much interest in that concept.

Here are a few more rumors from around the Eastern Conference, courtesy of Fischer:

Given that the 2024 draft class is considered relatively weak, there’s a sense that teams in search of roster upgrades might be more inclined to move their ’24 first-round picks in trades this season, but there’s not yet a long list of sellers. According to Fischer, league personnel believe the Raptors will be more inclined to join that group of sellers this winter than they have been in past years, after they saw Fred VanVleet walk in free agency over the summer. “Toronto’s going to be forced to make a decision,” one GM said to Yahoo Sports.
Pascal Siakam is considered the more likely trade candidate than Raptors teammate OG Anunoby, but a couple of the clubs believed to have interest in Siakam – the Pacers and Kings – seem “more vested” in the idea of landing Anunoby, Fischer writes.
Speaking of the Pacers, rival executives think they’ll be aggressive in exploring ceiling-raising trades that would consolidate some of their depth pieces, though Fischer is unconvinced the team is prepared to do anything substantial quite yet. Veteran backup point guard T.J. McConnell continues to draw interest from playoff teams seeking backcourt help, Fischer adds.
The Sixers aren’t expected to pursue any major roster changes until much closer to February’s trade deadline, according to Fischer.

Central Rumors: Pistons, Bulls, Hield, Cavaliers

November 29th, 2023 at 2:12pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran forward Bojan Bogdanovic is expected to be the Pistons trade candidate who generates the most interest from rival teams this season, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who hears from league sources that the club turned down two first-round picks from a contender in an offer for Bogdanovic last season.

It’s unclear what sort of protections those first-rounders might’ve had, but head coach Monty Williams “loves” Bogdanovic, per Scotto, so Detroit may set a high asking price for him again at the 2024 deadline.

Alec Burks, Monte Morris, and Killian Hayes are among the other Pistons players who figure to draw trade interest this winter, Scotto writes. League sources tell HoopsHype that Detroit had exploratory talks earlier this year with the Rockets about a trade that would have sent Burks to Houston in exchange for several second-round picks and Kevin Porter Jr. (who would’ve been waived).

Here are a few more of Scotto’s trade-related rumors and notes from around the Central:

Bulls guard Alex Caruso would be a hot commodity on the trade market if he’s available, but rival executives who spoke to Scotto say Chicago still hasn’t shown a willingness to move him. Multiple execs believe the Bulls could get a first-round pick and a rotation player for Caruso, Scotto notes.
How much might the Bulls get in exchange for Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan? “I think Zach LaVine can get a first back, maybe another first-round pick if it’s in this draft since it’s so weak,” one executive told Scotto. “DeMar DeRozan is worth a first in this draft in the 20s since it’s a weak draft, and he’s unrestricted at the end of the season. He can be a third scorer on a winning team.” Scotto says the Bulls are currently valuing players who could help them win immediately, rather than looking to tear down the roster and stockpile future draft picks.
Although Buddy Hield was identified in September as a potential trade candidate, the Pacers have set a high asking price for the veteran sharpshooter and don’t appear particularly eager to move him, according to Scotto. Five NBA executives who spoke to HoopsHype suggested it would take a first-round pick and a rotation player to pry Hield away from Indiana. Rival teams are also monitoring veteran Pacers guard, T.J. McConnell, Scotto adds.
Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert had their names pop up in trade speculation last season, but the Cavaliers want to keep both players through the 2024 deadline, barring a deal that moves the club closer to title contention, per Scotto.

Central Notes: Pistons, Williams, McConnell, P. Williams, Toppin

October 29th, 2023 at 8:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It’s only three games into the season but Pistons owner Tom Gores is already impressed with the impact head coach Monty Williams has made, Keith Langlois of Pistons.com writes. Gores coaxed Williams into coaching the team with a six-year, $78.5MM contract.

“He’s made a real difference,” Gores said. “We’re organized. What makes the most sense with Monty is he threads the needle everywhere. He knows how to have discipline, but he knows how to have compassion. He really threads the needle to me. He’s an experienced coach, but at the same time he’s modern and listens.”

Gores said he didn’t hire Williams to go through another rebuilding season.

“We wouldn’t bring somebody like Monty in if we had a bunch of players who weren’t ready,” he said. “It took us a bit to create this foundation – Cade (Cunningham), (Jaden) Ivey, (Isaiah) Stewart. This is a very strong foundation. They want to win as bad as anyone. Patience with progress, right? We need to make progress this year, absolutely.”

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T.J. McConnell got a chance to play with the Pacers’ second unit on Saturday and immediately provided a spark. He delivered eight points and eight assists in 19 minutes, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. “This morning I talked to the staff about, ‘Hey, let’s keep our eyes open and if there’s a point in the game where T.J. is the right guy, we have to pull the trigger decisively,'” coach Rick Carlisle said. “It was pretty clear in the first quarter that we needed him and what he brings.” McConnell is signed through next season but his $9.3MM salary for 2024/25 is only partially guaranteed for $5MM.
Patrick Williams didn’t receive a rookie scale extension from the Bulls and he hasn’t done anything to improve his value in the early going, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times notes. He was limited to no points, three rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes in the Bulls’ 118-102 loss to Detroit on Saturday. Coach Billy Donovan isn’t ready to bench him. “I wouldn’t do it from the standpoint of, ‘Oh, I’m just taking him out of the starting lineup because he’s got to do this, this and this, and he’s not doing it,’ ’ Donovan said. However, a lineup change may be in order if Williams doesn’t deliver more production, with Torrey Craig or Alex Caruso among the candidates to replace him.
Pacers forward Obi Toppin, another player who didn’t receive a rookie scale extension, feels more comfortable with his new team. He believes limited minutes with the Knicks held back his development, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “I can learn from mistakes. I can get better,” he said. “I feel like it can take my game to another level.”

Central Notes: Pistons, Carlisle, McConnell, Harden

October 28th, 2023 at 11:49am CST by Tristan Tucker

The Pistons are trying to build a team that could epitomize both the “Bad Boys” teams of the ’80s and ’90s, as well as the “Goin’ to Work” Pistons of the 2000s, according to The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III. Defense is the key to doing so and, through two games, Detroit’s defense is forming its identity.

The Pistons held the Heat to 103 points in a narrow one-point loss on Wednesday and limited the Hornets to 99 points on Friday, one year after the league-wide scoring average was 114 points per game. Still, there’s plenty to clean up, Edwards writes, as the Pistons have committed 39 turnovers in two games.

“When you have those kinds of turnover numbers and fouls, you have to do something to offset it,” Pistons coach Monty Williams said. “It was the defense tonight. I mean, (the Hornets) shot 37 percent from the field. You don’t see that much in an NBA game. I thought our physicality had a lot to do with it, guarding the ball had a lot to do with it.”

The Pistons have one of the youngest rosters in the league and the oldest player in the starting lineup is 22. Still, they’re buying into the system Williams is setting in place, according to Edwards.

“I credit the guys we have, we understand the game more, but Monty coming in, putting in a system that we can follow easily, and the standard he’s set on the defensive end,” center Jalen Duren said. “Everyone is buying into it. We’ve got guys taking that end very seriously. When everyone is buying into that side of the basketball, this is the outcome.”

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Pacers coach Rick Carlisle signed a contract extension with the team on Thursday and he’s looking forward to be around the team for the long haul, Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar writes. “I’m excited to continue the challenge here,” Carlisle said. “It’s really not a day to celebrate. It’s a day to be reminded of the daunting responsibility that me and my staff have to continue to develop this group. We’ve done some pretty good things as an organization the last couple of years and we have to keep pushing forward.“
The Pacers are deep at the guard positions, leading Carlisle to make some difficult rotation decisions, including leaving T.J. McConnell out of the 10-man rotation, Dopirak details in a separate piece. “It was obviously a tough conversation as a competitor,” McConnell said. “But I’m just here to do my job. Whatever he thinks is best for the team, he’s got to do. I just have to stay ready.“
The Bulls could benefit from exploring a swap involving Zach LaVine and James Harden, Scoop Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times opines. Chicago is 1-1 after an overtime victory over the Raptors on Friday, which came on the heels of a players-only meeting on Wednesday.

Pacers Notes: McConnell, Brown, Toppin, Nesmith, Haliburton

October 26th, 2023 at 10:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has talked about trusting all 15 of his players, but he used a condensed rotation in Wednesday’s season opener, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Carlisle kept at least one of his starters on the floor throughout the first half of the victory over Washington, and only 10 players saw action until the game was out of reach.

Carlisle appears to have a set starting five of Tyrese Haliburton, Bruce Brown, Bennedict Mathurin, Obi Toppin and Myles Turner. Only Andrew Nembhard, Buddy Hield, Aaron Nesmith and Jalen Smith came off the bench before halftime, and Isaiah Jackson saw some minutes in the second half after Turner got into foul trouble.

T.J. McConnell is among the players who are starting the season outside the rotation, and Carlisle said it was extremely tough to break the news to the veteran point guard.

“I had one of the most difficult conversations I’ve ever had with a player about the situation and the minutes,” Carlisle told reporters. “It was T.J. I was almost in tears talking to him about it. One of the reasons was he was so great. He was just him. He said ‘Hey, listen, I’m disappointed. I’ll be ready. I’ll be professional, you know that. I’ll do everything I can to set an example.’ But this is one of the great competitors in the history of this franchise. There certainly are going to be opportunities for him to play, but heading into this game the minutes plan didn’t shake out well for him. So we talked about it, and that was tough.”

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Brown set a career high by making six three-pointers in his first game with the Pacers, Dopirak adds. The free agent addition struggled with his shot early in the preseason, but he’s been getting better opportunities since Haliburton began playing. “It’s just the offense,” Brown said. “We play fast. Everybody’s running. Myles one time got me an open three just because of his seal at the rim. Our offense is so random. Anybody can score the ball and tonight it was me.”
Toppin is thrilled to have a starting job after spending his first three NBA seasons backing up Julius Randle with the Knicks, Dopirak adds in another story for the Star. Toppin loved playing in New York, where his father was a basketball legend on the local playgrounds, but he never got the playing time he needed to develop his game.
Nesmith said he hadn’t thought much about an extension before the Pacers began negotiations over the weekend, Dopirak states in a separate story. Nesmith signed the three-year, $33MM deal shortly before Monday’s deadline, cementing him as part of the team’s young foundation. “When Aaron Nesmith came in the trade last year, we had high hopes that he would be a long-term piece for us,” Carlisle said on Monday. “This extension obviously solidifies that. We’re really happy for him. He’s a great person, he’s a versatile player, he’s tough, he can shoot the ball, he can play different positions. It’s a great day.”
In another piece, Dopirak takes an in-depth look at how Haliburton was able to put himself in position to land a five-year extension this summer that could be worth as much as $260MM.

Central Notes: LaVine, White, Ivey, Sasser, Pacers

October 16th, 2023 at 10:53pm CST by Tristan Tucker

Bulls guard Zach LaVine is optimistic about his health heading into the season, Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times writes. LaVine was being held out of several early back-to-backs last season, including the season opener against the Heat.

Outside of Lonzo Ball, this might be the healthiest the Bulls have been since Arturas Karnisovas assembled the core of the roster in 2021, Cowley writes. Now, LaVine and others are aiming for an improved season.

“I’m in shape; I’m not rehabbing, so you’re not second-guessing things,” LaVine said. “I feel like myself, like I did from December on. I had a full offseason. It’s always good to come into camp in shape and not have any extra ailments.”

LaVine averaged 26 points on 50.7% shooting after December 2 compared to 20.9 points on 40.9% shooting before that point last season, as Cowley notes.

Cowley also writes the Bulls are still experimenting with what works for them in head coach Billy Donovan‘s new-look offense, including potential lineups. All indications are Coby White won the starting point guard position over Ayo Dosunmu and Jevon Carter, Cowley adds.

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Pistons coach Monty Williams faces several difficult decisions as the season draws near, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic writes. Edwards predicts the starting lineup to be Cade Cunningham, Ausar Thompson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Isaiah Stewart and Jalen Duren, with Jaden Ivey notably coming off the bench. Edwards points out Ivey hasn’t started in the preseason yet and Thompson has impressed on the defensive end, which has been an emphasis for Detroit.
Rookie guard Marcus Sasser is pushing for a rotation spot with his play in the preseason, per Edwards and Omari Sankofa II of Detroit Free Press. Sasser had 17 points and eight assists in an October 12 preseason game against the Thunder. “He’s a guy that plays with a great edge,” Williams said. “He competes every single day, in practice. He understands with me that if you compete and defend, you’ll find yourself on the floor. That’s what you’re seeing with him.“
Pacers rookie Ben Sheppard is making an impact in the preseason and saw run with the second unit in the team’s Monday preseason game against the Hawks, Dustin Dopirak of IndyStar details. “Sheppard is playing a mature game for a rookie,” head coach Rick Carlisle said. “He is older. He did play four years [of college basketball at Belmont] and it shows. But he understands what we need of him. … He’s a little bit like Buddy [Hield]. He’s doing a lot of good things.” Dopirak also notes Jalen Smith and T.J. McConnell are standing out and pushing for rotation spots.

Suns Rumors: McConnell, Johnson, Ishbia, Ayton, Lowry

September 29th, 2023 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Suns are believed to have maintained their interest in Pacers guard T.J. McConnell, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports said in the latest episode of the No Cap Room podcast (YouTube link).

Phoenix’s interest in McConnell was reported by multiple outlets earlier in the summer, but at that time, the team had no clear path to acquiring him due to his $8.7MM cap hit. Following their trade of Deandre Ayton and Toumani Camara for four players, the Suns have more potential pathways to acquiring McConnell, with either Nassir Little ($6.25MM) or Grayson Allen ($8.93MM) as a logical salary-matching piece.

While Fischer points out that the Suns are extremely short on point guard depth, he admits he’s not sure if the team will be eager to sacrifice its wing depth by moving a player like Little or Allen. Allen, in particular, had been on Phoenix’s radar for a while, as Fischer noted on Wednesday.

Here’s more on the Suns:

During the same podcast, Fischer reiterated that Keon Johnson‘s days in Phoenix are likely numbered. “I don’t think they’ve officially waived Keon Johnson yet, but from my understanding, they plan to waive him,” Fischer said. The former first-round pick was sent from Portland to the Suns in Wednesday’s blockbuster deal.
Suns owner Mat Ishbia was “very involved” in the trade that landed Allen, Little, Johnson, and Jusuf Nurkic in Phoenix, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. As Amick explains, the Suns view the move as one that not only adds depth but gives them players who better fit around their stars. Nurkic was a longtime target for the club, which is “thrilled” to have landed him, Amick adds.
While he’s not an All-Star like Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday, Ayton is the only player in Wednesday’s blockbuster who is a former No. 1 overall pick, so his departure represents the end of an era, of sorts, in Phoenix. Doug Haller of The Athletic and Gerald Bourguet of GoPHNX.com take a look back at Ayton’s tenure with the franchise and, in Bourguet’s words, the “polarizing, complicated” legacy he’ll leave behind.
John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 has shot down a report claiming that the Suns had interest in acquiring Kyle Lowry from the Heat as part of a three-team trade if the Trail Blazers had decided to send Lillard to Miami. There’s “absolutely no truth” to that claim, according to Gambadoro (Twitter link), who says Phoenix was “totally focused” on Nurkic and the smaller pieces they could get with him.

Pacers Not Rushing To Extend Toppin, Nesmith, McConnell

September 28th, 2023 at 2:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers are in “no rush” regarding potential extensions for forwards Obi Toppin and Aaron Nesmith and guard T.J. McConnell, general manager Chad Buchanan told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star and other media members.

Toppin was acquired during the summer from the Knicks to compete for the power forward spot. He’ll make $6.8MM this season and become a restricted free agent if he’s extended a qualifying offer after the season.

Nesmith started 60 of 73 games for the Pacers last season and appears set to be a regular rotation player again following the offseason trade of fellow wing Chris Duarte. Nesmith is in a similar spot as Toppin regarding his contract status. He’ll make $5.6MM this season and head into restricted free agency next season if a QO is offered.

“We’ll have conversations with their agents,” Buchanan said. “Obi is someone that we haven’t seen on our team yet. We’d like to see how things play out there. Aaron obviously has had one year with us and did a good job for us. It’s got to be the right situation for both sides. We’ll have those conversations but there’s no rush or anything to do something with those two guys in the short term.”

As for McConnell, the 31-year-old backup point man will make $8.7MM this season. His $9.3MM salary for next season is partially guaranteed for $5MM. His rotation spot is also in flux and Dopirak suggests the team may eventually look to trade him rather than extend him.

“T.J. is another guy who wants to play and he deserves to play,” Buchanan said. “He’s going to come in to compete. T.J. has had to compete for everything in his life. How that’s going to look, we don’t know yet, but I think he wants to be a Pacer. He’s happy being a Pacer. He wants to be here and that’s something we need to see play out and see where it goes.”