The Pacers will sign power forward Trevor Booker to a contract for the rest of the season once he clears waivers.
Trevor Booker is signing with the Indiana Pacers on a minimum contract for the rest of the season, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports reports.
Booker was bought out by the Philidelphia 76ers earlier today as they wanted to clear a roster spot to sign Ersan Ilyasova.
The 76ers acquired Booker earlier this season in a trade with the Brooklyn Nets, but the addition of Ilyasova made his talents duplicative and expensive, so they chose to buy him out and make him a free agent. The Pacers swooped in and signed Booker. Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype was the first to report the news.
This signing comes on the eve of the deadline for teams to sign players and have them be eligible for the playoffs. Had the 76ers waited until tomorrow to waive Booker, he would not have been playoff eligible for the Pacers, but because he is not going to be on an NBA roster come March 1st, he will be allowed to participate in playoff basketball once he inks his deal in Indy.
Technically, it is still a report that Booker is signing Indiana, as it can’t be official until he clears waivers. However, Booker gave fans of the Pacers and the league all the confirmation they needed that he was headed to Indiana:
Indy, let’s work!!!!
— Trevor Booker (@35_Fitz) February 28, 2018
Booker enters the waiver process today, and that process takes 48 hours, meaning that he cannot technically sign with the Pacers until Friday.
At that time, according to the above tweet from Charania, Booker will sign for the veteran minimum for the remainder of the season, which will pay him roughly $450,000:
At the time of the waiver, Trevor Booker had $2.1M left on his contract with Philadelphia. The minimum deal for Booker once he clears waivers on Friday (if signed that day) is $457k.
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) February 28, 2018
Booker, a Clemson University graduate, is known for being somewhat of a bruiser in the paint. He’s left-handed, which often throws off his matchup, and he has great touch in the lane, exemplified by his 54.2 effective field goal percentage in 2017-18.
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This season, he is averaging 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds in just over 17 minutes per game for both the Brooklyn Nets and the 76ers.
His bruising nature is a result of his ground-bound play style. He won’t ever surprise you with his athleticism, but he’s crafty and aggressive, and he is a solid interior defender; he has posted a positive defensive box plus-minus every season of his career.
In order to sign Booker, the Pacers will need to clear a roster spot, though that will not be difficult. Trey McKinney-Jones, who signed a 10-day contract last week, will likely be waived to create the roster spot that will allow Trevor Booker to become an Indiana Pacer.
Booker finalizes the Pacers playoff rotation, backup power forward was the biggest remaining hole on the roster after the return of Glenn Robinson III.
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Now 10 deep, the Pacers will look to climb in the standings down the home stretch of the season, and the Booker signing will certainly help that. Be on the lookout for the official announcement from the team come Friday.