LAS VEGAS — The Pacers signed their third and final 2017 draft pick to a contract on Wednesday. 18-year-old center Ike Anigbogu signed his first NBA contract.
And unlike Edmond Sumner, the Pacers’ selection at No. 52 (acquired from New Orleans for cash considerations), Anigbogu signed an NBA contract, according to a league source.
Sumner, who put pen to paper one week ago, signed a two-way contract.
The terms of the Pacers’ deal with Anigbogu were not immediately available. Contracts of second-round picks are not guaranteed.
Anigbogu — pronounced Ann-ie-bo-goo — is not 100-percent healthy. He actually tweaked his knee at the end of his pre-draft workout with the Pacers during a shooting drill. It was his fourth and final workout before the 2017 NBA Draft.
“It was just weird,” he recalled recently. “We were doing the shooting series and I came down off of a screen and pivoted on my foot and just twisted it a little bit. It kind of locked up. I didn’t think it was that serious at the time. They were like, “Yeah, we’ve seen enough.'”
[Pacers Podcast: Pac-12 Network Studio Host Mike Yam on T.J. Leaf and Ike Anigbogu]
Last fall, Anigbogu had his knee scoped before his only season at UCLA. It caused him to be sidelined for the first five games of the season.
Anigbogu did not participate in rookie/free agent camp and did not play on the summer league team. While the Pacers’ training staff hasn’t given him a timetable for his full return, Anigbogu is confident
“I don’t really have any worries,” he said. “I feel like I’m going to be back, 100 percent, sooner rather than later.”
He will wear No. 15.