The Indiana Mad Ants, the G League affiliate of the Indiana Pacers, announced on Tuesday that they have acquired the rights to guard Craig Sword in a trade with the Capital City Go-Go.
As compensation for Sword, the Go-Go received a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA G League Draft from the Mad Ants.
Sword, 29, was in the NBA during the 2021-22 season. He played in three games for the Washington Wizards, where he averaged 2.0 points and 0.3 assists per game. He also nabbed over one steal per contest. In his most productive outing, he had six points, three steals, and one assist.
Last year, Sword averaged 7.9 points per game for Capital City during the G League regular season.
The Mad Ants recently lost guard David Stockton to the G League Ignite, so they need to add ball handlers to pair with two-way contract guard Isaiah Wong. Wong was added by the Pacers late in the 2023 NBA Draft. Sword, a veteran, can help the team in that way.
Offseason G League trades are worth keeping an eye on from an NBA perspective. Somewhat often, a G League team will acquire the rights to a player so that said player can receive a training camp NBA contract with the organization. Those deals — called Exhibit 10 deals — give a player a financial bonus if they are waived by their NBA club and then report to the team's G League affiliate for at least 60 days.
Indiana did this last season with Stockton as well as Norvel Pelle, who both signed Exhibit 10 contracts with the Pacers. Perhaps Sword could follow a similar path.
The Pacers have already reportedly added Darius McGhee on an Exhibit 10 agreement. Perhaps Sword could be next, but either way, he is a player worth watching in the organization via the G League. The Mad Ants 2023-24 schedule can be found here.
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