The Pacers filled out their roster Monday, re-signing two of their own, Lavoy Allen and Shayne Whittington, and officially bringing two fresh faces aboard, Glenn Robinson III and Rakeem Christmas.
Allen, who now has his hands full with newborn twins, was key in making all of this work. The Pacers have his Bird Rights, meaning they can go over the salary cap to keep one of their own. And thus, his paperwork was the last one filed to the league office. Allen should have a real opportunity at power forward and center.
“We think he’s ready to step in and play more minutes at two different positions,” Team President Larry Bird said in a press release.
Bird believes Shayne Whittington, who is coming off his rookie season in the league and surgery on a broken leg more than 14 months ago, has a bright future. Whittington played limited minutes in 20 games last year.
“Shayne has been with us for more than a year and shown us a lot of good things,” said Bird. “He has grown as a player, has improved and we expect him to continue to do so to be a part of what we do. He’s a hard worker with a variety of skills for a big man.”
Meanwhile, in the first of two moves completed over the weekend, the Pacers traded for Christmas. They sent the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2019 second-round pick they received in the deal earlier this month for Roy Hibbert to the Cleveland Cavaliers for the rights to the 36th pick in June’s NBA Draft.
“He is a solid player who was a contributor all four years at Syracuse and we look forward to having him on our team,” Bird said.
Then, on Saturday, they agreed to a multi-year deal with Glenn Robinson III — a familiar name in Indiana. His dad, who played at Purdue (1992-94), was the first overall selection in the 1994 draft. Robinson III spent time last season, his rookie year, with Minnesota and Philadelphia.
“Glenn comes to us with a set of skills we think will blend in with our team,” Bird added. “We expect him to be very good on the defensive end and he can score the ball. We look forward to seeing him improve throughout the year.”
Robinson III wore No. 23 in high school at Lake Central and No. 1 during his two-year stint at the University of Michigan. He tweeted Monday that he will be No. 40.
The Pacers’ roster is now at the maximum of 15 players, all with at least this upcoming season guaranteed. There are eight returning players plus seven who will don the Blue & Gold for the first time.
A breakdown of the four players’ deals, according to league sources:
Lavoy Allen: Three years, $12 million
Shayne Whittington: Two years with a team option in year two
Glenn Robinson III: Three years, with a little more than a season guaranteed at $1.1 million
Rakeem Christmas: Four years (two guaranteed), $4.3 million
Roster breakdown:
PG: George Hill, Joe Young
SG: Monta Ellis, C.J. Miles, Rodney Stuckey
SF: Chase Budinger, Solomon Hill, Glenn Robinson III
PF: Paul George, Lavoy Allen, Shayne Whittington, Rakeem Christmas
C: Jordan Hill, Ian Mahinmi, Myles Turner
Watch Christmas signing with Bird:
Thank U @Pacers for being so welcoming Nothing was ever given to me I've worked hard and I am prepared to work harder pic.twitter.com/mRTASxXRzF
— Rakeem Christmas (@R_Xmas25) July 27, 2015