Though the Indiana Pacers lost the solid production of Bojan Bogdanovic to the Utah Jazz this offseason, the Pacers added solid players in free agency and the draft who will likely help them contend in the Eastern Conference in the 2019-20 NBA season. One player who should soon be a member of the Pacers is 27-year-old TJ McConnell, previously of the Philadelphia 76ers.
According to a tweet from freelance journalist Mark Montieth, Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard is in deep negotiations with McConnell’s camp to get a deal completed “within the next few days.”
Kevin Pritchard told me today he is "in deep negotiations" with TJ McConnell and is hopeful of reaching a contract agreement within the next few days.
— Mark Montieth (@MarkMontieth) July 8, 2019
McConnell spent the first four seasons of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers and had been one of the longest-tenured Sixers before he agreed to a deal with Indiana this offseason. The 76ers added Raul Neto as the team’s backup point guard without McConnell in the fold.
For the Pacers, McConnell will likely serve as the team’s third-string point man, with second-year guard Aaron Holiday expected to be the primary backup to Malcolm Brogdon, whom the Pacers acquired via a sign-and-trade with the Milwaukee Bucks on a 4-year, $85 million deal.
McConnell did not put up gaudy stats in his four-year career with Philadelphia, but he was a paragon of durability: McConnell has missed only 14 games in his career so far out of a possible 328. Not bad for a player who played on winning teams for only the past two seasons.
For the Pacers, McConnell will provide “young veteran” leadership to a team with postseason expectations.
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