Earlier in the day, reports surfaced that the Phoenix Suns were actively shopping small forward T.J. Warren, and that the Indiana Pacers were one of the teams in the running to land Warren.
Just a few hours before the NBA Draft, the Pacers have made the move to acquire Warren, according to ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski:
Indiana has traded for Phoenix’s TJ Warren, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2019
Woj also reported that the Suns are also sending the 32nd pick to the Pacers, who will immediately take Warren into their salary cap space:
Suns will send the No. 32 pick to Pacers too, source tells ESPN. Pacers are taking Warren into salary cap space. https://t.co/NN0gxs4e8L
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2019
Indiana could afford to take on another salary, given that they were set to have almost $43 million in cap space this summer. Additionally, Warren comes at a relatively cheap cost, given that he will not make more than $12.7 million prior to the end of his current contract after the 2021-22 season.
Warren developed into a dependable scoring option in Phoenix, averaging over 18 points per game in each of the last two seasons while also shooting close to 43 percent from beyond the arc last season.
The Pacers have a number of expiring contracts heading into this summer. Darren Collison, Bojan Bogdanovic and Thaddeus Young will all be unrestricted free agents, and it is extremely unlikely that Indiana would have been able to bring all three back into the fold.
Adding Warren gives the Pacers a reliable scorer to compliment Victor Oladipo, while also adding yet another shooter and perimeter threat to space the floor for the likes of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner.
One big question with Warren is his health. He has never played more than 66 games in a season, and played just 43 games for the Suns last year.
Follow Us
Subscribe