The Pacers will send Torrey Craig to the Suns in exchange for Jalen Smith, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Indiana will also receive a future second-round pick in the deal.
Craig, 31, was part of the Phoenix team that reached the NBA Finals last season. He only got into 32 games with the Suns and left in free agency to find a team that would give him a larger role. He signed a two-year, $10M deal with the Pacers and averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 51 games.
There has been speculation that Smith, a 21-year-old big man, would be moved ever since the Suns decided not to pick up his third-year option. The 10th pick in the 2020 draft, Smith got into 29 games this season, averaging 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per night. He may get a larger opportunity on an Indiana team that traded away Domantas Sabonis this week.
Because Smith’s option for next season has already been declined, the Pacers can’t offer him a new contract starting at more than $4,670,160, which was the amount of the option.
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