Hill will have a larger role this season.
The Pacers have picked up the team option on forward Solomon Hill’s contract for the 2015-16 season, the team announced Thursday.
Hill, a four-year player out of the University of Arizona, was drafted by the Pacers 23rd overall in 2013. Thursday’s announcement is not as much a surprise as a formality. As outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the first two years for first-round picks are guaranteed, and then the final two years are team options.
“I think he’s going to be a good player for us,” Pacers President Larry Bird said in June after Hill’s first season.
[Clean Slate: Solomon Hill going back to No. 44]
With Lance Stephenson’s departure and Paul George’s injury, more is going to be requested of the 23-year-old. Especially on the defensive end.
“He’s going to have to take make some shots for us,” said veteran David West, “and he’s going to have to be our No. 1 wing defender with Paul going down.”
Hill averaged 1.7 points and 1.5 rebounds per game last season, his first in The Association.