Alex Poythress waived by Indiana Pacers
By Ben Gibson
Alex Poythress is playing on the Indiana Pacers Summer League team, but he won’t be returning to the Indiana Pacers this fall.
Alex Poythress will be playing for his next NBA contract when he takes the court with the Indiana Pacers Summer League team. However, the team he plays with this fall won’t be the Pacers.
The Pacers waived Poythress on Friday morning to make room for Kyle O’Quinn according to Real GM’s Keith Smith. According to Smith, Indiana renounced Joe Young and Trevor Booker’s free agent rights as well.
Poythress played 25 games with the Pacers last season, averaging a point and 0.7 rebounds a game.
The former Kentucky player showed improvement in his shooting last season by raising his 3-point shooting closer to the league average and minimized turnovers. On the downside, however, he struggled to finish at the rim while not managing to even make it to the free throw line once.
Poythress’ shooting and competency coming off the bench had their value, and his 50% shooting on corner 3s is excellent for someone in his role.
But with Indiana looking to compete in the Eastern Conference title picture, the Pacers needed more from their bench players, making Poythress expendable. His contract would have become guaranteed later this month.
His future isn’t in Indiana, but his expectations are the same in Summer League goals are the same. Here’s what Tony East wrote this morning before the Pacers let Poythress go.
"Poythress is the other guy who should probably dominate. He has two NBA seasons under his belt and has played in summer league before. Also, like Leaf, he has carved up the G League in the past. With Fort Wayne last year, he averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per contest while also playing solid defense on the wing. With Poythress and Leaf in the starting five, the Pacers can compete with any other teams forwards."
Unless Kevin Pritchard makes a trade, the Pacers are likely done in free agency for now .