The Pacers have signed C.J. Fair, Arinze Onuaku, Chris Singleton, and Adonis Thomas, the team announced Friday. The four were brought in for further evaluation and to take part in training camp, which commences later this month.
Fair and Thomas were courtside for the Indiana Fever’s Eastern Conference Finals game Wednesday night, sitting in front of Paul George, and next to Solomon Hill and Donald Sloan.
[Pacers 2014-15 schedule released – open season Oct. 29]
Look at the list below. What do they all have in common (outside of two being Syracuse Orange)?
They’re all basically 6-foot-9 forwards. Paul George is 6-9.
Onuaku is a power forward, but the other three could all play on the wing. Thomas, though, is more of a shooting guard.
The Pacers’ frontcourt is set, with four centers and four power forwards. They are, however, thin on the wing. Solomon Hill, who’s coming off his rookie season, is a heavy favorite to emerge in George’s absence. Chris Copeland and Damjan Rudež perhaps could get some time at the 3, but coach Frank Vogel believes they would then have a mismatch on the defensive end. They could slide C.J. Miles over, or sign a veteran like Rasual Butler.
The Pacers have 15 players under contract — all fully guaranteed except for Luis Scola, Shayne Whittington. As a result of Paul George’s brutal right-leg injury, which is expected to keep him out the entire 2014-15 season, the NBA granted the Pacers the disabled player exception to add another player.
For those keeping the track, the Pacers now have three players named C.J. on the roster: Fair (Carl Keith), Miles (Calvin Andre), and Watson (Charles Akeem).
Media day is Monday, Sept. 29 with camp opening on the 30th. The Pacers’ first preseason game is Oct. 7 vs Minnesota at 7 p.m. ET.
From the press release:
C.J. Fair is a 6-8 rookie forward out of Syracuse who played on the 2014 Dallas Mavericks summer league team. Follow Fair on Twitter.
Arinze Onuaku is a 6-9 second-year forward, also out of Syracuse, who played for both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2013-14 season. He has also spent time with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Canton Charge of the NBA Development League. Follow Onuaku on Twitter.
Chris Singleton is a fourth-year, 6-9 forward out of Florida State. He played all three seasons of his NBA career with the Washington Wizards, with career averages of 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Follow Singleton on Twitter.
Adonis Thomas is a 6-7 forward that played collegiately at Memphis. He is in his second year in the NBA, having played for both Orlando and Philadelphia in the 2013-14 season. Follow Thomas on Twitter.
I have officially signed with the Indiana Pacers! I would like to say thank you to the Pacer organization for the opportunity! God is good!
— Adonis Thomas (@AllDayThomas) September 3, 2014