3 things to know about Pacers trade acquisition Juwan Morgan

Former IU basketball standout Juwan Morgan is back home again in Indiana. The Pacers acquired Morgan, along with four other players and a 2023 first-round pick, in a trade with Boston for Malcolm Brogdon. 

Here are 3 things to know about Morgan:

He was recruited by Tom Crean, starred for Archie Miller

Morgan was recruited by Tom Crean to come to Indiana. He suffered a shoulder injury during his freshman year, and stayed committed to the Hoosiers when Crean was fired and Archie Miller took over. He took a step forward during his sophomore season, averaging 7.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, then took a leap as a junior — 16.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. During his senior season, he averaged 15.5 points and 8.2 rebounds. 

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He left IU as the 25th-leading scorer in program history, 11th in career rebounds and ninth in career blocks. He was twice named to the All-Big Ten team.

Players and teammates loved him

After a loss to Purdue in February of Morgan's senior year, Miller lauded him for his leadership. IU was in the midst of a 1-12 stretch. 

“He's as coachable a guy as I've ever been around," Miller said. "He's a great teammate, and I think everybody wants to see him do well and go out (a winner) ... He's never quit. He's never questioned coaching. He's never questioned anything. He's that one guy that you look at and you say, ‘He's always going to be there for us.’”

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Romeo Langford, then a freshman, called Morgan "the leader that we've needed him to be through this hard time. He hasn't shied away from this stretch we're going on. He's just become even more of a leader.”

Looking for his shot in the NBA 

After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft, Morgan played on the Utah Jazz Summer League team, and later joined their G-League team. He signed a two-way contract later that year, and made his NBA debut on Nov. 27, 2019. He averaged 1.7 points in 21 games, then 1.2 points in 29 games the next season. 

Last season, he spent time with the Celtics' G-League team before signing a 10-day contract with Toronto, where he appeared in one game. Later in the season, he signed a 10-day contract with the Celtics, then signed a multi-year deal with the team. He appeared in nine games during the team's playoff run, including three NBA Finals games.

Follow IndyStar trending sports reporter Matthew VanTryon on Twitter @MVanTryon and email him story ideas at matthew.vantryon@indystar.com.