{"id":112048,"date":"2024-12-13T23:43:11","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T04:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=112048"},"modified":"2024-12-13T23:43:11","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T04:43:11","slug":"the-pacers-trade-with-eastern-rival-to-sign-thomas-bryant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/12\/13\/the-pacers-trade-with-eastern-rival-to-sign-thomas-bryant\/","title":{"rendered":"Pacers Trade With Eastern Rival To Solve Biggest Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indiana Pacers<\/a> have agreed<\/a> to acquire center Thomas Bryant<\/a> from the Miami Heat,<\/a> according to ESPN<\/em> NBA insider, Shams Charania.<\/a> In exchange, the Pacers will send a swap of a future second-round pick to the Heat. The deal becomes official on Sunday when Bryant is trade-eligible.<\/p>\n

Pacers Trade With Eastern Rival To Solve Biggest Crisis<\/h2>\n

The Pacers<\/a> urgently needed a backup center after losing<\/a> Isaiah Jackson<\/a> and James Wiseman<\/a> to torn Achilles tendons. Bryant, in his eighth NBA season, will fill the gap. This season, he is averaging 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11 minutes per game.<\/p>\n

An Indiana University<\/a> alum, Bryant returns to familiar territory. Drafted by the Lakers in 2017, he has since played for the Wizards, Nuggets, and Heat. He holds career averages of 9.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.<\/p>\n

Offensive Contributions<\/h3>\n

Bryant knows his role and plays it well. On offense, he excels as a rim-runner, sticking to high-percentage plays. His free-throw rate of 33.5<\/a>% ranks in the 82nd percentile, showcasing his ability to draw fouls.<\/p>\n

The Pacers<\/a> currently rank 19th<\/a> in the NBA in free-throw rate. Bryant could help improve that area. With him on the court, his team\u2019s made free throws per 100 shots increased by 5.7<\/a>. This ranks in the 94th percentile, making him a valuable addition to their offense.<\/p>\n

Defensive Capabilities<\/h3>\n

Bryant\u2019s defense focuses on rim protection. His block percentage of 4.5% ranks in the 92nd percentile. This means he effectively deters shots at the rim, a skill the Pacers need. However, his preference for drop coverage may cause challenges in Rick Carlisle\u2019s switch-heavy schemes. Pacers centers often defend on the perimeter, a potential mismatch for Bryant.<\/p>\n

Rebounding Impact<\/h3>\n

The Pacers rank 29th<\/a> in total rebounds and 28th in offensive rebounds this season. Bryant could help address these struggles. When Bryant is on the court, his team\u2019s offensive rebounding rate increases by 3.1<\/a>%. This ranks in the 78th percentile. His presence on the glass could provide second-chance opportunities for a Pacers team desperate for improvement.<\/p>\n

A Fresh Opportunity<\/h3>\n

Bryant\u2019s role on the Heat was limited, primarily due to Bam Adebayo\u2019s<\/a> importance. With the Pacers, he has a clearer path to minutes as Myles Turner\u2019s<\/a> backup. At 27 years old, Bryant still has room to grow. He once averaged 13.2 points per game during the 2019-20 season with the Wizards. Indiana\u2019s system has unlocked potential in players like Aaron Nesmith<\/a> and Obi Toppin<\/a>. Bryant could be the next success story.<\/p>\n

The biggest risk for the Pacers<\/a> adding Bryant is his injury history. He has missed considerable time throughout his career with injuries, appearing in more than 46 games just once in his career.<\/p>\n

Thomas Bryant is a Low-Risk, Medium-Potential Deal for the Pacers<\/h3>\n

This trade represents a low-risk, low-to-medium reward move for the Pacers. Bryant\u2019s expiring contract<\/a> makes this a financially sound decision. With injuries depleting their frontcourt, the Pacers had little choice but to act. Bryant\u2019s skill set aligns with several of their needs, including rim protection, rebounding, and offensive efficiency. The Pacers now have an opportunity to stabilize their rotation and compete for playoff contention. If Bryant thrives in Indiana\u2019s system, this trade could end up being one of the more impactful trades this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Indiana Pacers have agreed to acquire center Thomas Bryant from the Miami Heat, according to ESPN NBA insider, Shams Charania. In exchange, the Pacers will send a swap of a future second-round pick to the Heat. The deal becomes official on Sunday when Bryant is trade-eligible. Pacers Trade With Eastern Rival To Solve Biggest […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":112077,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1608,16,62,3],"tags":[49979,2832,1010,979,2889,4299,2107,637,4975,98,1382,2617,1208,2388,1340],"class_list":["post-112048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pacers","category-basketball","category-heat","category-nba","category-news","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-aaron-nesmith","tag-bam-adebayo","tag-espn","tag-indiana-hoosiers","tag-isaiah-jackson","tag-james-wiseman","tag-myles-turner","tag-nba-contracts","tag-nba-draft","tag-nba-trade","tag-obi-toppin","tag-rick-carlisle","tag-shams-charania","tag-thomas-bryant"],"modified_by":"Jacob Stephens, Associate Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112048"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112078,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112048\/revisions\/112078"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}