Top 3 Buyout Candidates For Pacers Following Trade Deadline

The Indiana Pacers had a fairly quiet trade deadline. Will the team bring in more help for the stretch run of the 2024-25 season?

Indiana did manage to offload reserve center James Wiseman, already out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, to the Toronto Raptors, but that was a cost-cutting move. The Pacers did net a top-55 protected second-round draft pick in the offing, as Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star notes.

The Pacers are trading Wiseman and cash considerations to the Raptors for a top-55 protected pick.
— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) February 6, 2025

But beyond that, the Pacers made no other transactions to add help to their young core, which has gotten the club to a 29-22 record and the Eastern Conference's No. 4 overall seed thus far.

Indiana has brought in one new player in the intervening days, calling up free agent former lottery pick center Jahlil Okafor from its NBAGL affiliate squad, the Indiana Mad Ants, for a 10-day deal.

The Pacers had been reportedly circling a deal with free agent center Alex Len, who had recently been traded away from the Sacramento Kings to the Washington Wizards, who subsequently waived him, as part of a multi-team agreement. After news of the Okafor signing hit, Len apparently backed off.

we have signed Jahlil Okafor to a 10-day contract.

more: https://t.co/jTxd6kSZkK pic.twitter.com/ae5wbBdFlr
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) February 11, 2025

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So where else might/should Indiana turn to shore up its bench depth for its final 31 games of the 2024-25 regular season?

Here are some names for Indiana to monitor on the buyout market.

Malcolm Brogdon, Washington Wizards

Malcolm Brogdon is on a $22.5 million expiring deal, and obviously has developed a nice relationship with Indiana's fanbase thanks to his prior tenure in town. For the past two seasons, the 6-foot-4 vet has been playing for teams headed straight for lottery futility. It's a mighty fall from his 2022-23 stint with the Boston Celtics. He won Sixth Man of the Year honors on that club, en route to a seven-game Eastern Conference Finals series defeat to the Miami Heat. Maybe he's open to sacrificing a little cash to compete with the 2024 East Finals runners-up.

Brogdon may not be willing to take a buyout, given that he will need to give up money. But he'd be a top target for a lot of good teams if he hit the market.

Jaden Springer, Free Agent

The athletic former Celtic was traded to the Houston Rockets in a salary dump. Rather than be yet another defense-first guard option for the rising Rockets, Springer was quickly cut. He's still just 22 and has plenty of upside, especially on defense.

Monte Morris, Phoenix Suns

A two-way vet, Morris could is currently stuck riding pine on a talented-if-troubled Phoenix Suns squad. This season, the 29-year-old point guard is averaging 4.9 points on .404/.301/.850 shooting splits, 1.7 assists and 1.4 rebounds in 40 games for the 26-26 Suns. He's on a $2.1 million veteran's minimum contract, and cold conceivably carve out a bigger role as a key bench defender behind Tyrese Haliburton.

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