The Indiana Pacers took two steps on Sunday to finalize their roster for training camp.
Both moves were concessions – the Pacers moved on from Justin Anderson and Nouvel Bailey, two players the franchise signed last Friday. Indiana freed two places on the list in this move.
Anderson played for the Pacers last season and made 13 appearances for the franchise. He started six times and ended up averaging 6.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
His defense on the wing was a blessing to Blue and Gold. Now, his talents may go to Fort Wayne Mad Ants, the Indiana G League affiliate. With Mad Ants last year, Anderson was named to the First Team All-NBA G League due to his strong play.
Billy has no previous ties to the Pacers series, but Fort Wayne replaced the returning player rights earlier this month. He will provide inner depth to the G League team if he plays with them this season. Pacers assistant coach Tom Hankins is the head coach for Mad Ants.
Neither Anderson nor Bailey have appeared in any team training or matches.
After the concessions, the Pacers’ roster is now 18 players. On Monday, the team announced that these 18 players will be the group that the franchise brings to the training camp. Practices for Blue and Gold begin on Tuesday.
The training camp roster in Indiana is made up of players shy of the summer’s maximum 20 players. Camp fights can be beneficial for a young team, and having more bodies to monitor and monitor development can be beneficial for the Pacers. But they chose to stay with a smaller group during camp this year.
Of the 18 players Indiana has brought to camp, eight are new to the team. The Pacers will look different this year as they move from core to core.
“This is an official new era for Pacers basketball,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said at a media day Monday. The blue and gold are smaller than they have been in years as they enter a growing period.
Indiana Veterans James Johnson and Langston Galloway have added in a pair of transactions in recent weeks. These two players, along with Deividas Syrvidis, could fight for the team’s final roster and two-way spots entering the season. The Pacers haven’t signed maximum players to two-way contracts yet and only have 13 guaranteed contracts on the books.
The Pacers will earn between $94-96 million in total salary for the team entering the season, depending on who makes the opening night roster. That’s about $15 million less than the NBA’s salary limit, so Indiana is more likely to make moves — such as signings, deals or renegotiations — during the season.
The Pacers will play their first pre-season game ten days from now. This will be the first opportunity to see the new-look team, and a new era of Basketball Pacers, in action.
