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The Indiana Pacers announced Friday they have re-signed free agents Roy Hibbert and George Hill. We’ll post contract details here later today.
“Re-signing Roy and George shows a commitment from Herb Simon to our franchise, our team and our fans that we fully intend to keep this team moving forward in the NBA,” said Donnie Walsh, Pacers President of Basketball Operations. “Both of these players were very important to our success last season and to have them locked up for the coming seasons is a great foundation to build off of.”
Hibbert, a 2012 NBA All-Star, is coming off his best season with the Pacers, averaging 12.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. He finished the season ranked fifth in the NBA in blocks per game. Originally drafted by the Toronto Raptors in the 2008 NBA Draft (17th overall pick), he was traded to the Pacers on July 9, 2008 and has spent all four of his seasons in the NBA with the Pacers. He has career averages of 11.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
“I’m happy to be back and I have unfinished business here,” said Hibbert. “I can’t wait for the season to begin.”
“As Donnie and I went through this process, it really wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ we would keep Roy and George. We had to keep them,” said Pacers General Manager Kevin Pritchard. “When you look at how this team, with the emphasis on team, is constructed, so many parts fit very well. These are two parts who are still young, who are going to get better and who are going to make our team better. Roy and George are also excellent representatives of the franchise and excellent representatives of the community. They are quality players and quality people.”
Hill, a native of Indianapolis, played both high school and college basketball locally at Broad Ripple High School and IUPUI. He was drafted by San Antonio as the 24th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and spent the first three seasons with the Spurs before returning home to play for the Pacers as part of a draft night trade on June 24, 2011. The 6-2, 180-pound guard has career averages of 9.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
“I’m happy to be staying home with family, friends and my AAU program,” said Hill. “The main thing was to keep this team together and keep moving forward. It was always a dream to be with the Pacers and now that it’s reality for a longer period of time, it’s great.”
