Indiana Pacers Blog – Page 18 – NBA Blog

Nets trade Thaddeus Young to Pacers

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired the draft rights to Caris LeVert, the 20th pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft, along with a future second round pick, from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for forward Thaddeus Young.

LeVert (6’7”, 205) played four seasons at Michigan and helped the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including trips to the National Championship game in 2013 and the Elite Eight in 2014. In 103 career games (70 starts) for the Wolverines, LeVert averaged 10.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. As a senior, the Columbus, Ohio, native posted averages of 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 30.9 minutes per game while shooting .506 from the field and .446 from 3-point range in 15 games (14 starts) during an injury-shortened season. He earned 2014 All-Big Ten second-team and 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament team honors following his sophomore season, when he averaged 12.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 34.0 minutes per game in 37 games.

Young played in 101 games (93 starts) with the Nets after joining the team via trade from Minnesota on February 19, 2015, averaging 14.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals in 32.0 minutes per game. A nine-year NBA veteran, Young has appeared in 665 career games with Philadelphia, Minnesota and Brooklyn, holding averages of 13.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals in 30.6 minutes per game.

Report: Nets trade Thaddeus Young to Pacers

Report: Nets trading Thaddeus Young to Pacers

The Nets finished last season with a 21-61 record, the third worst in the league, ahead of only the Lakers and Sixers. A Brooklyn rebuild is clearly in order, which is difficult when a team has traded lots of first round draft picks away. But they have reportedly taken a step in the rebuild direction today, as reported by Woj/Yahoo Sports:

Brooklyn has traded forward Thad Young to the Indiana Pacers for the 20th pick and a future 2nd rounder, league sources tell @TheVertical.

Young, a power forward, averaged 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last season and now gets to play alongside star Paul George.

Both the Nets and Pacers could make more moves soon. It’ll be interesting to see if the Nets deal center Brook Lopez, who is their best-remaining commodity.

Report: Hawks will trade Jeff Teague to Pacers

Report: Hawks trading Jeff Teague to Pacers

The Hawks have one point guard too many, and were expected to trade one this offseason. This is now materializing, with Jeff Teague reportedly being sent to the Pacers. Here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting:

The Indiana Pacers have acquired Jeff Teague from the Atlanta Hawks in a three-team trade than sends George Hill to the Utah Jazz, the IndyStar has confirmed.

The rest of the deal has the Jazz sending their No. 12 overall pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft to Atlanta, according to Yahoo reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the trade.

And the Deseret News reports:

The move will give the Jazz a steadying influence at point guard while Dante Exum reacclimates himself to the NBA game after missing all of last season because of a torn ACL.

Nate McMillan is new Pacers head coach

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have named Nate McMillan as their head coach.

McMillan has spent the last three seasons as Associate Head Coach for the Pacers under Frank Vogel.

“I truly believe Nate is the right coach for us at this time,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “When I heard he was interested, I got in touch with him, met with him and in our conversation I came away with all the confidence in the world in Nate to lead our franchise to where we want to go. His experience as a player, head coach and assistant coach in the NBA are valuable assets for us.”

“I want to thank Larry, Herb Simon and the Pacers for this opportunity, which is a great opportunity,” said McMillan. “I’ve been around this franchise three years and understand what the expectations are and look forward to working hard to try to meet them. We have a good team and good base to build from. I’m very anxious to get started.”

The 51-year-old (8/3/64) McMillan has a vast basketball background as a player and a coach. After playing collegiately at North Carolina State, McMillan was drafted by Seattle (30th overall) in the 1986 NBA Draft. He played his entire 12-year career with the Sonics and had his number (10) retired. He is second in franchise history in assists and steals and ranks in the top 10 in eight other categories. He was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive team twice (1994 and ’95) and led the league in steals in the 94-95 season with 2.96 per game.

After his playing days, McMillan was a Seattle assistant coach for two years and became the interim coach in 2000. He remained the Sonics’ coach until 2005 and then became Portland’s head coach until he was let go in March, 2012. In 2008-09, he led the Trail Blazers to a 54-28 record, the sixth-best record in franchise history. McMillan compiled a 478-452 (.514) record as a head coach for both teams. He also served as an assistant coach for the U.S. National Team where he won gold medals in the 2006 FIBA World Championships, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. McMillan was also inducted into the National Junior College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 after playing at Chowan College before transferring to North Carolina State.

Pacers will not retain Frank Vogel as coach

Pacers will not retain Frank Vogel as head coach

Indiana Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird announced Thursday that Frank Vogel will not return as head coach of the Pacers. According to the Indianapolis Star, Vogel was at the end of his contract.

“I want to thank Frank for his time in Indiana,” said Bird. “We know he’ll be successful down the road and end up getting a job, but for us, I just feel it’s time to move in a different direction.”

Vogel stepped in as interim coach, Jan. 30, 2011, replacing Jim O’Brien, and was named head coach July 6, 2011. In five-plus seasons, Vogel compiled a 250-181 record, five NBA Playoff appearances, two Central Division championships and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The search for a new coach will begin immediately.

According to the Indianapolis Star, “Vogel, 42, began his career as the ladder-climbing video coordinator who would do anything to get his foot into the prestigious door of big-time basketball. He climbed all the way to the head of the Pacers’ bench, where he held the position for five full seasons after replacing Jim O’Brien during the 2010-11 season. The Pacers made five postseason appearances under Vogel and developed a reputation as one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.”

More from the Star: “However, the Pacers were 31-30 in the playoffs and never averaged more than 97.6 points per game during a postseason run, which includes this season when the Pacers (45-37) finished seventh in the Eastern Conference. On April 18 in Game 5, the Pacers spoiled an opportunity to take a commanding lead in the first-round series with the Toronto Raptors by squandering a 13-point advantage in the fourth quarter. Though the Pacers evened the series the next game, they lost to the Raptors in Game 7 on the road.”

Frank Vogel, Doc Rivers named NBA Coaches of Month for April, 2016

The Indiana Pacers’ Frank Vogel and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.

Vogel led the Pacers to the best record in the Eastern Conference at 6-1. The Pacers won their final three games and held off the Detroit Pistons for the seventh seed in the East playoffs. Indiana averaged 108 points per game and shot a conference-best 49.3 percent from the field in April. Four of the Pacers’ six wins came by double digits, and their +8.6 scoring differential led the conference.

Rivers guided the Clippers, the fourth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, to a 6-1 record, tops in the West. The Clippers surrendered 100 or more points just twice in seven games and held opponents to an average of 94.1 points on a league-low 40.6 percent shooting from the field. L.A. posted back-to-back home wins over two West playoff teams, the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies, on April 10 and 12, rounding out a 4-0 month at Staples Center.

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Boston’s Brad Stevens, Charlotte’s Steve Clifford, Dallas’ Rick Carlisle, Golden State’s Steve Kerr, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra, Portland’s Terry Stotts and Toronto’s Dwane Casey.

Pacers sign Ty Lawson

The Indiana Pacers have signed point guard Ty Lawson.

Lawson, 5-11, 195-pounds is in his seventh year in the league. He played his first six seasons with the Nuggets before the Rockets acquired him last summer. He averaged 5.8 points per game and 3.4 assists with Houston in 53 games this season before they waived him last week.

According to the Indianapolis Star, “Lawson was not shy about why he picked the Pacers over four other teams that were pursuing him after he agreed last week to a buyout from the Houston Rockets. “This is the place for me,” he said with a smile. “I feel like I’ll actually get enough time to be able to play my game, so I’m just excited. We have a chance to win. The East is wide open from, like, the third seed to the 12th seed. I guess everybody is jumbled together. We definitely can make a lot of noise if we go on a seven- or eight-game win streak.”

During his career, Lawson is averaging 13.3 points and 5.8 assists per game. Lawson, who played collegiately at North Carolina, was a first-round pick (18th overall) in the 2009 NBA Draft.

“We’re glad to have Ty come play with the Pacers for this final run of the season,” said Pacers’ President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “We think he brings added speed to our backcourt, he can get up and down the floor and he helps strengthen our second unit.”

“This is a good opportunity for me to come here, try to help the Pacers win and get into the playoffs,” said Lawson. “I’m just ready to play and do whatever is needed.”

Pacers waive Chase Budinger

The Indiana Pacers announced they have requested waivers on 6-7 forward Chase Budinger.

Acquired from Minnesota in a trade last July, Budinger played in 49 games (starting two), averaging 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.

The Pacers are 32-30 this season, and being led by Paul George (23.4 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 4.2 apg), Monta Ellis (14.3 ppg, 4.7 apg), George Hill, C.J. Miles, and Myles Turner.

Pacers hope to host an All-Star weekend

Here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting that the Pacers are making a push to host a future All-Star weekend:

One of the NBA’s most prized and glitzy events, the All-Star Game, is being held in Toronto for the first time this weekend. Among the abundance of celebrities, crazy basketball fanatics and the sport’s best players is a seven-person delegation from Indianapolis. Their mission, which began two months ago, is to bring the NBA’s midseason classic back to Indiana.

The Indiana Pacers, led by Rick Fuson, its chief operation officer, want the All-Star Game.

Fuson, along with other representatives from the Pacers, the Indiana Sports Corp and Visit Indy, wanted to see the festivities associated with the All-Star Game in person to examine why Toronto was selected and how Indianapolis can become a viable hosting option for the NBA. After Sunday’s game, Fuson and the rest of the group – including Ryan Vaughn, president of Indiana Sports Corp, and Leonard Hoops, president and CEO of Visit Indy – will discuss what they believe would make for a successful bid.

A league official confirmed Saturday that the Indianapolis delegation is in Toronto to observe how Toronto is operating the many events with the NBA. The official also said the 2019 All-Star Game is the earliest year the Pacers could make a bid. Fuson said it’s unclear if the Pacers will bid for 2019 or for a subsequent year. What is clear is that several people with knowledge of the Pacers’ trip this weekend believe the team will submit its bid in the next few months.

C.J. Miles having good season for Pacers

The Indiana Pacers (21-15) are led by Pau George’s 24.3 ppg this season, but another key reason for their success is the play of C.J. Miles, who in 26.8 minutes per game is putting up 13.9 ppg and doing more than his stats suggest. Here’s the Indianapolis Star reporting:

All NBA teams could use someone like Miles. More than a “glue guy,” a term tossed around to describe a significant yet sometimes skillfully challenged player who does the little things to help a team be successful. Miles has the talent to hit 8-of-9 3-point attempts and score 32 points (see: Nov. 24, Washington) but also the selflessness to accept any task thrown at him.

“He’s a team-first guy and willing to do whatever the team needs to win,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. “He just smiles and says whatever you need me to do and says I’ll figure it out when I’m out there, whether it’s (playing the) 4, 3, 2, off the bench, starting.

“Every coach needs guys like that.”

Miles willingly morphs into a basketball shapeshifter because he’s done so all this life.