The Pacers will waive veteran big man Serge Ibaka, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files first reported that Indiana was expected to cut Ibaka.
Indiana is also expected to waive second-year forward Terry Taylor, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
The Pacers are acquiring Ibaka as part of the three-team deal that is sending Jae Crowder to the Bucks, but he will never officially suit up for Indiana. Assuming he clears waivers, Ibaka might find some suitors among the contenders, but he was just on one of the best teams in the league and struggled to receive playing time.
The 33-year-old unfortunately hasn’t looked the same after having back surgery a couple of years ago. He appeared in 16 games for the Bucks this season, averaging 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per contest.
After going undrafted out of Austin Peay in 2021, Taylor had a solid rookie season once he cracked Indiana’s rotation, averaging 9.2 points and 5.2 boards while shooting 61.4% from the field in 33 games (21.6 minutes). However, he hasn’t played much in year two, averaging just 8.8 minutes per night across 26 games in 2022-23.
Taylor’s deal for next season is non-guaranteed, so waiving him will only affect this season’s cap.
If our math is correct, the Pacers will still need to waive one more player as part of the trade with the Bucks — they’re adding three players, but had a full 15-man roster, and only two from the pre-trade roster (Taylor and Goga Bitadze) will reportedly be released. The team has to open up a spot for all three incoming players even though Ibaka will be waived.
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