Pacers re-sign center Jalen Smith to two-year deal
Center Jalen Smith will reportedly be back with the Indiana Pacers next season.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Pacers and Smith agreed to a two-year deal on Friday.
Smith, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, played 51 games last season for the Phoenix Suns and Pacers.
The 22-year-old struggled with the Suns, averaging 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 29 games.
In February, the Suns traded Smith to the Pacers in exchange for forward Torrey Craig.
Playing significantly more minutes, Smith's game exploded with the Pacers. After averaging just over 13 minutes a game with the Suns, Smith averaged 24.7 minutes per game with the Pacers. In 22 games with the Indiana, Smith averaged 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks.
Terms of Smith's new deal with the Pacers weren't released. However, James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star explained why Indiana could offer Smith no more than $10.6M over a two-year contract.
"Since the Pacers acquired Smith, they had to abide by his rookie contract rules - offering only the value of the options the Suns declined - and could only sign him for a max of roughly $10.6M over two years, which was presumably below his market value as an unrestricted free agent after he thrived in Indiana."
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