It looks like young big man Ike Anigbogu will be back for another year with the Indiana Pacers. Let’s take a look at the move.
Sometimes, no news is good news. That was the case for Indiana Pacers’ young center Ike Anigbogu this weekend, and it panned out well for him.
Anigbogu’s contract for the coming season had a total value of $1,378,242. However, only $650,000 of that contract was guaranteed to him. The Indiana Pacers had until July 15th to make the decision. Do they keep Anigbogu on relatively cheap cap figure? Or do they waive him to clear roughly $700,000 in cap space and clear a roster spot?
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July 15th came and went, and the team did not put Ike Anigbogu on waivers, meaning that his contract is now fully guaranteed for next season. Anigbogu will be a member of the 2018-19 roster for the Indiana Pacers.
While it may seem superfluous to keep a guy like Anigbogu around given how many centers the Pacers already have, there is still a lot of value in keeping guys like Ike. He is behind Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, and the freshly signed Kyle O’Quinn in the center rotation, so playing time may be hard to come by. But he is a project with loads of potential. He can jump out of the gym, he is solid on the glass, and he is above average for his age protecting the rim. Most of his other skills are raw, but keeping players with potential in the organization is a good idea. Ike fits that bill, and as a result, he sticks around another year.
Anigbogu only hit the court for 30 minutes in total for the Indiana Pacers this past season. He posted averages of 1.2 points and .8 rebounds per game. Ike showed more of what he could do in Fort Wayne with the Mad Ants, where his stat line was 8.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
There’s a player in there. It may take a while for it to exist, but that’s a quality NBA player just waiting for the right opportunity.
Next: Pacers finish out Summer League with rout of Nets
Anigbogu will probably once again play more in the G League than in the pros this season. But if he starts to show flashes in the minors, he may start to creep in for some garbage time minutes with the Pacers. He isn’t much of anything yet, but Anigbogu has potential, and the Pacers don’t want to lose that. So they kept him around. Welcome back, Ike.