The Indiana Pacers wanted Jordan Nwora before. Now they can see what the power forward can do
Jordan Nwora is a member of the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers acquired the forward in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks last Thursday, and the 24-year old arrived in Indiana the following day.
The Pacers have needed power forward depth for a while, and they get a little bit better at the position with the addition of Nwora. The 6'8 forward is shooting 39.2% from long range this season and can fill gaps offensively, which is a player archetype that the blue and gold don't currently have.
"We feel that he can play both the 3 and the 4 position. He’s bigger and taller than most people think," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Nwora.
Nwora actually remembers watching his first in-person NBA game in the Pacers home arena — Gainbridge Fieldhouse. He was watching former Louisville Cardinal Donovan Mitchell play, and Nwora, too, went to Louisville. He has told numerous people that he is excited about the trade in part because he is now so close to where he played basketball in college.
Indiana grabbing Nwora has been a long time coming. Nwora was in contact with the Pacers this past offseason, but he was a restricted free agent and nothing quite materialized. "Nwora is a guy that we’ve had interest in for the last couple of years. We’ve actually, at times, been somewhat close to acquiring him but could never quite get there," Carlisle shared. President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard noted that the franchise had conversations with Nwora last summer, and they like that he's multi-positional and can get his own shot.
This season, only 55.6% of Nwora's two-point buckets have been assisted, a career low number. He has improved his ability to get off his shot, as Pritchard noted, though his threes have been almost always set up by teammates during his career. Still, as a shooter who can put the ball on the floor and make a play, he does have offensive chops.
His stats aren't perfectly reflective of his ability since he frequently got garbage time minutes on a stellar Bucks team. For example, in the 20 games Nwora played for at least 15 minutes this season, he averaged 9.6 points per game on 41/45/85 shooting splits. He can be an effective offensive player when given a chance.
Defensively, the young forward can read the game well, but he struggles to stay in front of his man. That is a common problem in Indiana and could make him a tougher fit. He will need to improve on that end of the floor going forward, but it will be easier to improve in a more development-based environment for the Pacers than it was in Milwaukee's more winning-centric situation.
"I feel like just being able to take the next step in my game here. Being able to grow with these guys," Nwora said of joining the Pacers. "It's gonna be really good being here playing for a great coach, great coaches, great staff."
The young forward might be a bench piece for the Pacers right away, depending on how Carlisle and the Pacers evaluate his skill set. He can play at the three and the four spots, so Nwora could get some of Oshae Brissett's minutes, for example, in the future. Nwora is under contract for the 2023-24 season as well, so the blue and gold need to find out what they have in the 24-year old prior to next season.
George Hill, the other player that Indiana kept in the deal that netted them Nwora, knows the forward well from their time together in Milwaukee. He has a decent idea of what the 24-year old can bring to Indiana.
"Championship experience is the first thing that he brings. He's a champ. But at the same time, he's one of the best scorers I've seen," Hill said last Friday. "I think he's a great shot creator. But at the same time, he's getting a lot better defensively and knowing the game. With his age and things like that, his athleticism, his body. I think he's going to be an integral piece to this young core, and I think Pacers nation will be very proud of what the Pacers have received," the veteran added.
Nwora won a title with Milwaukee during his rookie season, making one NBA Finals game appearance. He mentioned learning things like how to have a good work ethic and be a good teammate during that Finals run. He will bring those traits with him to Indiana.
He will also bring scoring and shot creation to the Pacers, which are the skills that made Nwora a Pacers target in the past. "There’s a lot of upside... We think Jordan has a chance to really blossom here and he’s going to get a lot of opportunity," Pritchard said of the forward. The partnership took longer to get started than Indiana hoped, but Jordan Nwora is a Pacer, and he could grow into a part of the team's young core if he continues to develop with his new team.
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