INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers originally decided to sign veteran point guard Monte Morris just before the start of training camp but decided not to after a medical evaluation determined his calf strain would keep him out for all or most of training camp. Now that the season has started and the Pacers are in even more dire straits at point guard, they are bringing him back.
The Pacers are signing Morris to a one-year non-guaranteed contract and waiving guard Mac McClung, a league source confirmed to the IndyStar on Thursday. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the news first.
The 30-year-old Morris has eight years of NBA experience and is averaging 9.5 points and 3.6 assists against 0.7 turnovers per game in his career. He’s a 47.4% shooter and 38.9% 3-point shooter for his career. He’s served stints with the Nuggets, Wizards, Pistons, Timberwolves and Suns and he averaged 5.2 points and 1.6 assists per game with the Suns last year.
McClung was on a multi-year contract but ended up spending just 10 days with the Pacers. The three-time NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion and former G League MVP appeared in three games and averaged 6.3 points in those games, but he wasn’t used in two of the Pacers last three games and played just 2 minutes and 17 seconds in the Pacers’ loss to the Bucks on Monday.
The Pacers are in desperate need of point guard help. They went into the season knowing All-Star Tyrese Haliburton would miss all of it with a torn right Achilles tendon. Since the start of preseason, veteran backup T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard — who shifted from shooting guard to start at point guard in Haliburton’s absence — have each been hit with injuries. So too has two-way contract guard Quenton Jackson, who had 25 points and 10 assists running the point in the Pacers win over the Warriors on Saturday.
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