Pacers Demote Guard to G League Affiliate

Indiana is making a big in-house move to its standard roster.

Nov 22, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11) grabs a rebound against Indiana Pacers forward Enrique Freeman (8) and guard Johnny Furphy (12) in the second quarter at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers have revealed that they are demoting rookie guard Johnny Furphy to their G League affiliate, the Indiana Mad Ants, for the short-term future so that he can put in some reps.

We have assigned Johnny Furphy to @themadants.

Read more on https://t.co/ETpri0tubG ⤵️ https://t.co/S3uBWtluUC

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) January 7, 2025

This marks the second time this season that Furphy has been assigned to the Mad Ants. He was assigned to — and recalled from — the Mad Ants previously on November 6.

Indiana added the 6-foot-8 shooting guard, now 20, out of Kansas with the No. 35 overall pick in this summer's 2024 NBA Draft. The right-handed Aussie has averaged just 2.6 points on .382/.344/1.000 shooting splits for Indiana so far this year, across 23 healthy bouts. In 9.1 minutes per game, he's also logging 1.3 boards a night.

A Big 12 All-Freshman Teamer during his one-and-done season with the Jayhawks, Furphy averaged 9.0 points while slashing .466/.352/.765 shooting splits, 4.9 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.9 steals per game across 33 healthy contests (19 starts).

This year, the Mad Ants are currently 3-2 on the season. The team is currently the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Mad Ants rank 3rd in average points per game, 25th in allowed opponent points per game, sixth in assists per game and 17th in rebounds per game.

Indiana, meanwhile, hasn't had much room for Furphy this year. The club is looking to right its ship this year, just a season removed from a promising 47-35 season finish in 2023-24 and an impressive underdog run all the way to the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals. All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton and former All-NBA power forward Pascal Siakam, a mid-season trade acquisition by the Pacers, led the way for the club last season.

This year, Siakam's more plodding pace has stymied Indiana's preferred run-and-gun offensive approach, while Haliburton scoring inconsistencies have proven confounding. Health issues have limited starting wings Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nemsith's availability, which has greatly hindered the Pacers' defense along the perimeter.

At 19-18 thus far in 2024-25, Indiana is currently the No. 6 seed in the middling Eastern Conference. That said, the club has gone 7-3 across its past 10 games and is currently on an encouraging three-game winning streak. Head coach Rick Carlisle has been leaning heavily on his swingman depth to improve, but even with Nesmith still sidelined, Furphy hasn't been trusted with much of a role. It's important for him to get some in-game reps, so this move to the Mad Ants makes sense.

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