Report: Pacers 'actively pursuing' backup center

The Pacers are “actively pursuing” a center to back up starter Myles Turner, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Insider link).

At the start of the regular season, the Pacers expected offseason free-agent addition James Wiseman to compete with former first-round pick Isaiah Jackson for minutes behind Turner. However, Wiseman suffered a season-ending Achilles tear in the regular season opener, and Jackson sustained the same injury just nine days later.

Indiana signed journeyman center Moses Brown to a non-guaranteed deal in November, and he appeared in nine games for the team before falling out of the rotation and being waived on Monday.

The Pacers now have an open spot on their 15-man roster and are operating approximately $2.2M below the luxury-tax line. That gives them the flexibility to trade for a player on a one-year, minimum-salary contract without becoming a projected taxpayer.

Charania doesn’t go into any detail on whether the Pacers have their eye on a specific player, but a number of centers who signed one-year minimum deals will become trade-eligible this Sunday. That group includes Thomas Bryant, Cody Zeller, Charles Bassey, Alex Len and former Pacer Daniel Theis, among many others.

Indiana was awarded a $2.2M disabled player exception for Jackson’s injury — it could be used to trade for a player on an expiring contract whose salary fits into the exception. There aren’t many centers who fit that bill — and who couldn’t simply be acquired using the minimum salary exception — but Jericho Sims is one example.

Trading for a player earning more than the minimum wouldn’t be out of the question for the Pacers, but it would likely mean sending out at least one player in order to stay below the tax line. Jackson, who is on a $4.4M expiring contract, is one possible trade candidate who would make sense if Indiana targets a center in the $5M range such as Nick Richards or Drew Eubanks.

Turner is averaging a career-high 31.9 minutes per game so far this season. In recent games, when he’s been off the floor, the Pacers have gone with small-ball lineups featuring multiple power forwards, including Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin, and Jarace Walker.