Category: Indiana Pacers Blog

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Pacers sign Malcolm Brogdon to contract extension

The Indiana Pacers have signed guard Malcolm Brogdon to a multi-year contract extension.

Per multiple reports, Brogdon’s extension is a two-year, $45 million deal.

According to the Indianapolis Star, this “brings Brogdon to a guaranteed $89.3 million for four years. The extension prevents him from being traded for the next six months, meaning he can’t be traded this season. Brogdon had been involved in rumors he would be part of a package in a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons.”

“Malcolm has established himself as a very important part of our organization, not only with his performance on the court but also by the character he displays beyond it,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “He has become one of our undisputed leaders – continually supporting his teammates and setting them up for success – while also demonstrating the drive, dedication, and work ethic necessary to establish himself as one of the premier guards in the NBA.”

Brogdon, the 2016-17 NBA Rookie of the Year, was acquired by the Pacers on July 6, 2019, and has appeared in 297 career regular-season games, posting averages of 15.1 points, 4.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds in 29.8 minutes per game. Additionally, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team and was selected to participate in both the 2017 and 2018 NBA Rising Stars Challenges at All Star weekend. During the 2018-19 season, Brogdon became only the eighth player in NBA history record a “50/40/90” season, when he shot 50.5% from the field, 42.6% from three-point range, and a league-leading 92.8% from the free-throw line.

Pacers trade Edmond Sumner to Nets

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired guard Edmond Sumner and a 2025 second round draft pick in a trade with the Indiana Pacers (via Miami) for the draft rights to guard Juan Pablo Vaulet.

Sumner has appeared in 108 games (29 starts) across four seasons (2017-21) with the Pacers, recording averages of 5.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 14.1 minutes per game. He was originally selected by Indiana with the 52nd overall pick in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.

Vaulet was selected with the 39th overall pick in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft by Charlotte, and his draft rights were traded to Brooklyn.

Indiana Pacers home arena renamed as Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) has announced that Indianapolis-based Gainbridge is the new naming partner for the NBA’s most iconic arena, and the home of the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever, and hundreds of events throughout the year has been renamed Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

“Just as the Fieldhouse is so much more than simply a basketball arena, the chance to partner with a bold, forward-thinking company like Gainbridge means so much more than just putting a name on a building,” said PS&E President & Chief Operating Officer Rick Fuson. “Our organizations share a vision for engaging new generations of consumers, strengthening our city and state economies, and investing in our community with intentionality. We could not have asked for a better aligned partner, and we look forward to growing together for years to come.”

“We couldn’t be more excited to join the Pacers and Fever at the new Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It really is the ‘Fieldhouse of the Future,’ where we’ll be hosting a wide range of exciting sports and entertainment events with new and improved space, infrastructure and technology,’’ said Group 1001 President & Chief Executive Officer Dan Towriss. “This unveiling is such a critical moment for us as we join in experiencing this amazing venue with a bold new Gainbridge Fieldhouse brand. This partnership goes farther than just this new venue because together, we can make an even bigger impact with our aligned commitment to improving communities through sports and education.’’

Pacers forward T.J. Warren remains out with foot injury

Indiana Pacers forward T.J. Warren’s stress fracture in his left foot is healing during the rehabilitation process; but not at the pace previously anticipated.

He remains out indefinitely.

Per the Indianapolis Star, “on Aug. 13, Warren tweeted that he played basketball, an important milestone in his recovery from the stress fracture in the navicular bone in his left foot that sidelined him beginning Dec. 29. Warren had surgery on the foot Jan. 5 but the area of the injury — a boat-shaped bone in the middle of the foot — makes for a difficult recovery process.”

Pacers sign DeJon Jarreau, waive Amida Brimah

The Indiana Pacers have signed guard DeJon Jarreau to a two-way contract.

And in a corresponding move, the Pacers waived center Amida Brimah.

Jarreau played three seasons at the University of Houston after he began his collegiate career at the University of Massachusetts. During his senior season in 2020-21, Jarreau earned honors as the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He was named the 2021 NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player and helped lead Houston to the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Pacers sign forward Torrey Craig

The Indiana Pacers have signed free agent forward Torrey Craig.

“Torrey is known for toughness, defense and being a great team guy,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “As a player who went undrafted, Torrey got to where he is through hard work and perseverance. He will be a great addition to our depth and our emphasis on defense.”

After he originally went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft out of the University of South Carolina Upstate, Craig played three seasons professionally in Australia and New Zealand before he earned a spot on the Denver Nuggets’ roster for the 2017-18 season. Craig played three seasons for the Nuggets (2017-20) before splitting the 2020-21 regular season with the Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns.

Craig has played in the postseason in each of the last three seasons, including the 2021 playoffs in which he helped the Suns reach the NBA Finals.

Indiana Pacers add Jannero Pargo and Zach Chu to coaching staff

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have made two additions to head coach Rick Carlisle’s staff.

Jannero Pargo was hired as a player development assistant. Pargo spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the Portland Trail Blazers. Prior to his time in Portland, he served as an assistant coach for the Windy City Bulls in the NBA G League for two seasons (2017-19). A native of Chicago, Pargo played 11 NBA seasons for the Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Washington Wizards and Charlotte Bobcats/Hornets.

Zach Chu was named Manager of Game Strategy and Analytics. Chu spent the last two seasons as a basketball analyst on Carlisle’s staff with the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to that, Chu served as an assistant coach of the Texas Legends in the NBA G League and spent a year with the Los Angeles Clippers. Chu is a graduate of the University of Richmond where he played four seasons for the Spiders’ men’s basketball team.

In addition, the Pacers announced they have retained player development coaches Calbert Cheaney and Tyler Marsh, player development assistant Maurice Baker and video coordinator Dylan DeBusk.

A native of Evansville, Ind., Cheaney enters his second season as a member of the Pacers’ staff. He previously served in coaching roles as an assistant in the NBA G League with the Erie BayHawks for two seasons, as an assistant at St. Louis University for three seasons, as Director of Basketball Operations at Indiana University for two seasons and as an assistant for the Golden State Warriors for one year. Cheaney played 13 NBA seasons for Washington, Boston, Denver, Utah and Golden State. He starred during his collegiate career at Indiana University from 1989-93, was named a three-time All-American and remains the Big Ten Conference’s leading scorer with 2,613 career points. Cheaney is married to his wife, Yvette, and they have one son, Julian, and one daughter, Sydney.

Marsh is also entering his second season with the Pacers. He spent two seasons as a video coordinator and player development coach with Toronto, helping the Raptors earn the NBA title in 2019. Marsh also spent four seasons as an assistant in the NBA G League with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Bakersfield Jam, Iowa Wolves and Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He played two seasons at the University of Alabama-Birmingham before finishing his playing career at Birmingham Southern College.

Baker will begin his second season in his role as player development assistant. A Madison, Ill. native, Baker played collegiately at Oklahoma State from 1998-2002. He played in the NBA during the 2004-05 season with the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers. Baker also played nine seasons in the NBA G League, as well as time spent in professional leagues in Lithuania and France. ‘

DeBusk joined Indiana’s staff prior to the 2020-21 season. He served in a number of roles within the Phoenix Suns’ organization over the previous six seasons. He began in the NBA G League in 2014 as an assistant coach for the Bakersfield Jam in 2014-15. DeBusk was eventually promoted to assistant general manager of the Northern Arizona Suns and held the interim general manager title in 2018-19.

Wizards vs. Pacers August 8 summer league game postponed

The MGM Resorts NBA Summer League game scheduled for today at 8 p.m. ET between the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.

Because of ongoing contact tracing within the Wizards, the team does not have enough available players to proceed with tonight’s game against the Pacers.

Five-team NBA trade sends Russell Westbrook to Lakers, Spencer Dinwiddie and Kyle Kuzma to Wizards

The Washington Wizards announced yesterday that they have acquired guard Spencer Dinwiddie from the Brooklyn Nets; guard Aaron Holiday, the rights to forward Isaiah Todd and cash considerations from the Indiana Pacers; and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell from the Los Angeles Lakers in a five-team trade.

Washington sent guard Russell Westbrook and second-round picks in 2023, 2024 and 2028 to the Los Angeles Lakers; forward Chandler Hutchison and a 2022 second round pick to the San Antonio Spurs; and a 2024 second-round pick along with the right to swap second-round picks in 2025 to the Brooklyn Nets. As part of the trade, Indiana acquired the rights to Isaiah Jackson, who was selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Brooklyn also received the rights to 2015 first-round pick Nikola Milutinov from the Spurs as part of the deal.

“It takes a special mentality of competitiveness to take on the role of point guard for The Los Angeles Lakers,” said Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Rob Pelinka. “We have seen some of the all-time greats master that role here, and now Russell Westbrook gets to come home and do just that. This is a very proud day for our franchise, and we are incredibly grateful. We welcome Russell and his family to Lakers Nation.”

“We were clear as we moved into the offseason that we would be aggressive in making moves that would improve our defense, shooting and athleticism,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “Starting with hiring Coach Unseld, then moving to the draft and the acquisition of these five players via trade, we feel confident that we have made significant progress in those areas.”

“Each player that we acquired in this trade addresses a need for us in addition to bringing experience, toughness and a winning attitude that makes them ideal fits around Bradley and the rest of our returning roster,” said Sheppard. “Spencer’s athleticism allows him to score and make plays for others with Aaron’s hard-nosed style off the bench making a complementary pair of point guards. Kyle and KCP are proven three-and-D players with significant championship experience while Montrezl’s energy and effort personify the way we want to play every night.”

Dinwiddie (6-5, 215), who comes to Washington in a sign-and-trade deal, has appeared in 320 career games (133 starts) with the Pistons and Nets, and holds career averages of 12.9 points, 5.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game. In five seasons with Brooklyn, Dinwiddie averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 274 games (132 starts) and posted career-highs in points (20.6 ppg) and assists (6.8 apg) during the 2019-20 season. The Colorado product appeared in only three games during the 2020-2021 season, after undergoing surgery to repair a partially torn ACL he suffered on December 27, 2020 (he has been cleared for all basketball activities since June).

Originally selected with the eighth overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, Caldwell-Pope (6-5, 204) holds career averages of 11.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists and 29.1 minutes per game in 606 career games (464 starts) with Detroit and Los Angeles. The 6-5, 204-pound guard, has shot .370 percent or better from three-point range in three of the past four seasons and shot a career-best .410 from three-point territory last season.

Last season, the eight-year NBA veteran averaged 9.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 67 games (all starts) for the Lakers. Caldwell-Pope was an integral part of the Lakers 2020 NBA Championship team, where he averaged 12.8 points per game in the Finals against the Miami Heat.

A fourth-year forward, Kuzma (6-10, 221) holds career averages of 15.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 276 (146 starts) with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Flint, MI, native, has averaged at least 12.0 points and four rebounds per game in every year of his career, joining Jayson Tatum and Lauri Markkanen as the only players from the 2017 NBA Draft class to post these averages in all four seasons.

During the 2020-21 season, Kuzma averaged 12.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and a career-high 1.9 assists in 68 games (32 starts), while shooting .361 percent from three-point range on 5.6 attempts per game. Last season, the Utah product reached double-figures on 45 occasions, scored 20+ points 13 times and totaled 13 double-doubles. Selected with the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Lakers, Kuzma was selected to the All-Rookie First-Team.

Harrell, 6-7, 240, has appeared in 387 career games (26 starts) across six seasons with the Houston Rockets (2015-2017), Los Angeles Clippers (2017-2020) and Los Angeles Lakers (2020-2021), averaging 12.8 points on .616 percent shooting, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.2 minutes per game. In 69 games (one start) with the Lakers last season, he averaged 13.5 points on .622 shooting, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

The former Sixth Man of the Year (2019-20) has averaged 10 or more points per game the past four consecutive years while making five or fewer starts in those seasons, joining Jordan Clarkson as the only players to do so since the 2017-18 season.

Holiday, 24, has averaged 7.7 points, 2.4 assists and 1.7 rebounds, while shooting .372 percent from three-point range in 182 career games (41 starts) over three seasons with the Indiana Pacers. The 6-0, 185-pound guard averaged 7.2 points and 1.9 assists in 66 games (eight starts) during the 2020-2021 season.

Drafted with the 23rd overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Holiday posted career-bests in points (9.5 ppg), assists (3.4 apg) and rebounds (2.4 rpg) during the 2019-20 season.

Washington also acquired Isaiah Todd on draft night, who was selected by the Indiana Pacers with the 31st overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Todd, a 6-10, 210-pound forward, played for G League Ignite in its inaugural season in 2020-21, averaging 12.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 16 games (three starts).

In one season with Washington, Westbrook averaged 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 11.7 assists per game in 65 games (all starts), the fourth career season he has averaged a triple-double. The 13-year guard became the NBA’s all-time triple-double leader on May 10, 2021, after passing Oscar Robertson’s 181 triple-double record. He concluded the regular season with 36 straight double-doubles and a league-best 38 triple-doubles.

Hutchison, who was acquired by Washington in a three-team trade on March 25, 2021, averaged 5.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18 games (one start) with the Wizards last season.

“Russell was a tremendous leader for us and watching him make history while with the Wizards was a privilege for me, our players and our fans that none of us will ever forget,” said Sheppard. “The impact he made on our franchise and our players in just one season is remarkable and we wish him the best as he continues his Hall of Fame career. We also appreciate Chandler for the work he put in during his time with us and extend him our encouragement as he progresses in his development.”

Pacers hire Lloyd Pierce, Ronald Nored, Mike Weinar and Jenny Boucek as assistant coaches

The Indiana Pacers have hired Lloyd Pierce, Ronald Nored, Mike Weinar and Jenny Boucek as assistant coaches for Head Coach Rick Carlisle’s staff.

Pierce joins the Pacers after being head coach of the Atlanta Hawks for the past two and a half seasons. Pierce is currently working with Team USA as part of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team coaching staff as an assistant coach that will soon head to Japan for the 2021 Olympic Games. Prior to his time with the Hawks, Pierce spent time in assistant coaching roles with the Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. Before he coached in the NBA, Pierce was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Santa Clara University, from 2002-07, and played four seasons at Santa Clara.

Nored returns to the state of Indiana after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets. Prior to his time with the Hornets, Nored was the head coach of the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League for two seasons and spent time with both the Boston Celtics and their G League affiliate, the then-Maine Red Claws. Nored started his coaching career in Indiana at Brownsburg High School. Nored played collegiately at Butler University and was a part of the team that reached back-to-back National Championship games in 2010 and 2011. While at Butler, he was a two-time Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year.

Weinar joins the Pacers after 13 seasons with the Dallas Mavericks, four as an assistant coach. Weinar was on staff as part of the Mavericks 2011 NBA Championship team. Prior to joining the Mavericks, Weinar worked with the University of Florida men’s basketball program. Originally from Urbana, Illinois, Weinar earned his master’s degree in sport management and his bachelor’s degree in sport science from Florida.

Boucek joins the Pacers after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks. Prior to her time with the Mavericks, Boucek was a player development coach with the Sacramento Kings, becoming just the third woman to coach in the NBA. Prior to joining the Kings, she spent two decades coaching professionally in the WNBA, including tenures as the head coach of the Seattle Storm (2015-17) and the Sacramento Monarchs (2007-09). Boucek was involved in the WNBA since its inaugural season in 1997 when she played for the Cleveland Rockers. Following a career-ending injury in 1998, she began her coaching career. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, she played collegiately at the University of Virginia from 1992-96 and was a two-time GTE All-American, two-time ACC selection and two-time defensive player of the year.