The Indiana Pacers added a 15th man to their roster in the form of Damien Wilkins, a 37-year old who has been out of the NBA for four years.
The Indiana Pacers signed Damien Wilkins today to a one-year, veteran minimum deal. Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders first reported the news. The Indianapolis Stars’ Nate Taylor reports that is a training camp invite and the deal is not guaranteed.
The signing is prompting many to ask two questions.
Who? And why?
Indiana Pacers and Damien Wilkins have agreed to a one-year, veteran minimum deal, a league source told Basketball Insiders.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) July 20, 2017
The 6-foot-6 shooting guard hasn’t played in the NBA since 2013 when he was a Philadelphia 76er. He had stints with the Seattle SuperSonics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons as well. With those six teams, his career averages are 6.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.
His most notable moment in the NBA came with the Seattle SuperSonics in 2005 when he posted 15 points, six rebounds and five steals in a Game 4 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
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The North Carolina State and University of Georgia product left the NBA in 2013 and bounced from the G-League to a few international stops before returning to the G-League with the Greensboro Swarm last season. He averaged 14.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game with the Swarm.
However, as noted above, he is a training camp invite and not expected to take part in the Indiana Pacers future.
So why sign him?
-He played under McMillan (Sonics)
— Dave “Mortgages” Searle (@MillerTimePod) July 20, 2017
-Could be trade filler at deadline
-Vet leadership
-Might lure The Human Highlight Film to Pacers games https://t.co/zng0SZMTn9
The obvious connection here is Nate McMillan’s time with the SuperSonics, which falls under Indy Cornrows writer Caitlin Cooper’s offseason flow chart.
Flowchart 2.0 refresher course. pic.twitter.com/rzFbzNqCyc
— Caitlin Cooper (@C2_Cooper) July 20, 2017
Maybe McMillan is doing an old friend a solid, but there also is a chance they are grooming him for an assistant coach job at some point. That’s purely speculation, but that makes as much sense as bringing him in as a veteran presence during camp.
Next: Love/Hate Series: T.J. Leaf
Either way, Damien Wilkens is an Indiana Pacer for now.