Indiana Pacers training camp roster officially set at 20

After yesterday’s signing of two-way guard Naz Mitrou-Long, the Indiana Pacers’ official 20-man training camp roster is finally set.

It’s been a long, hardworking off-season for Kevin Pritchard and the Indiana Pacers, but the fruits of their labor are finally here in full. After it was announced yesterday that Naz Mitrou-Long was signing a two-way deal with the team, the Pacers were finally up to the maximum of 20 players for training camp.

The amount of roster turnover this offseason feels very reminiscent of Pritchard’s overhaul after trading Paul George in 2017, with only Aaron Holiday, Victor Oladipo, Edmond Sumner, Doug McDermott, Domantas Sabonis, Alize Johnson and Myles Turner returning to Indiana next year. C.J. Wilcox was technically one of the Pacers’ two-way players last season, but didn’t see a minute on the court after he tore his achilles in an off-season workout.

Pritchard’s biggest moves are well-represented near the top of the depth chart, with T.J. Warren slated to start at small forward after a draft day trade brought him to Indiana. Sign-and-trading for Malcolm Brogdon painted a pretty starting backcourt with Oladipo for the Pacers, plus seeing Holiday right behind him is exciting in terms of learning experience for the young guard.

Jeremy Lamb was the premiere free agent acquisition for the Pacers this off-season, as his guard skills will come in handy to replace Oladipo during injury and to support him off of the bench once he returns. The later signings of T.J. McConnell and Justin Holiday should see the rotation this year as well.

After trading away their second round draft picks for more second round draft picks, the Pacers were left with only one player on draft night: Goga Bitadze. The move set the tone for the entire off-season, as his acquisition is likely what officially brought Sabonis and Turner together in the frontcourt, letting the dominos fall on not re-signing Thaddeus Young and then their actual eventual trades and signings.

As far as the fringe guys go, Brian Bowen II brings a troubled past but plenty of potential as he gets a second chance with the Pacers. Mitrou-Long has been a stud in both G-League and Summer League capacities, so he’s a natural fit as the second two-way contract.

JaKarr Sampson has shown lots of potential as a journeyman, not to mention his love of SpongeBob will be a crucial part of team culture next season.

The Exhibit 10 guys all come from different backgrounds, as Wilcox is returning to Indiana after devastating injury, Amida Brimah is bringing UConn and G-League pedigree and JaKeenan Gant is a stellar defensive talent out of Louisiana.

There’ll be stiff competition in the coming months as the roster dwindles down to 15 official players, but for now, Indiana has plenty of intriguing prospects to make this as interesting of an off-season as they’ve seen in a long time.