Former Pacers Guard Claimed Off Waivers by West Contender

The former Pacers guard was waived to make room for RayJ Dennis.

Jan 2, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Josh Christopher (8) throws a pass into center Kel'el Ware (7) as Indiana Pacers guard Ben Sheppard (26) defends during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers had three second-round picks in the 2024 NBA Draft. The odds of hitting on one of those picks are slim, let alone all of them. They used those picks to draft Johnny Furphy, Enrique Freeman, and Tristan Newton. It was a bit surprising that they used them all.

Furphy has had to play more this season than the Pacers initially wanted him to. Injuries early in the year forced him to get some real minutes. He was expected to play 40 games in the G League this season. Instead, he hasn't played a single game for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

Freeman was also expected to play a lot for the Mad Ants as well. Because of the injuries at the center position, he had to start a few games for the Pacers. He has played just two games in the G League, and he has played in 17 games for Indiana so far.

Of the three draft picks, Newton looked like he needed the most work by far. He has played ten games in the G League but shot just 42 percent from the field. The Pacers thought that they could get someone else who could develop faster, so they decided to waive Newton and picked up RayJ Dennis instead.

Newton went through waivers and was actually claimed by a team that is contending for a title. The Minnesota Timberwolves decided to claim him. He will now get a chance to continue his NBA career with a team in the Western Conference that has time to let him develop.

The Pacers have already admitted defeat with one of their 2024 draft picks. They really like Furphy, and they like the effort that Freeman plays with. Furphy has a better chance to develop into a rotational player at some point than Freeman does.

Neither of those two players is likely to play much the rest of the season unless injuries hit the team hard again. They have aspirations of contending for a title this season, so playing two second-round rookies doesn't really help them do that.

The Pacers have to start putting some wins together if they expect to even make the playoffs. They sit under .500 at the moment, although the schedule has started to finally let up. They have played more road games than any other team in the NBA up to this point.

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