Sixth-year point guard Cory Jospeh was acquired by the Pacers in exchange for the rights to Emir Preldzic, who the Pacers received from Dallas one year ago for Jeremy Evans and cash considerations.
Joseph began his career with San Antonio in 2011 as the 29th overall pick out of the University of Texas. (Yes, Myles … another Longhorn joins the roster!)
Playing for the Spurs and within that system is a giant check mark of approval. That means something. Joseph, who’s 25, is another Spurs point guard to join the Pacers via trade. When the Spurs traded George Hill to the Pacers in 2011, they then used their own pick to select their new backup point guard in Joseph.
“We are very excited to acquire Cory,” Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said. “He has been on our radar for a while. With Darren Collison and Cory we have two solid, veteran point guards who fit our culture of playing hard and unselfish.”
Joseph — who is 6-foot-3, 190 pounds — spent the last two seasons playing for his hometown team, the Toronto Raptors. Playing 25 minutes per game during the 2016-16 season, Joseph averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game. He shot 45.2 percent from the floor, and 35.6 percent from range.
Although he’s not a great 3-point shooter — below 32 percent over his career — Joseph is a good ball-handler, defender, and locker room guy.
Joseph will come to Indy at the start of next week to take a physical, tour his new office, and meet with the media.
After this move, and the Pacers waiving Georges Niang, the roster stands at 14.
Originally, sharpshooter C.J. Miles was included in the deal. However, Raptors officials, headed up by president Masai Ujiri, decided to complete it a bit differently to keep flexibility, according to a team spokesman.
The Raptors will still sign Miles, but they will use their mid-level exception to do so. And it will happen once Joseph passes his physical, and thus is no longer a cap hold on Toronto’s books.
(They traded DeMarre Carroll to the Brooklyn Nets to fall below the luxury tax threshold and open up the opportunity to use the MLE.)
By using the mid-level exception, the Raptors would keep the trade exception, which doesn’t expire for a full year.
Miles plans to travel to Toronto and sign with the team at the first of the week.
(I spoke with Doug Smith, who covers the Raptors for the Toronto Star, about Joseph and what he’ll bring to Indy. Take a listen: