Pacers bringing in ex-Rick Carlisle Mavericks player
You can take Rick Carlisle out of Dallas, but you can’t take the Dallas out of Rick Carlisle.
Evan Sidery of Basketball News reported on Thursday that the Indiana Pacers are adding veteran forward James Johnson to their training camp roster. Guard Langston Galloway will also be joining the Pacers for camp, Sidery adds.
The 33-year-old Johnson is a 13-season NBA veteran and has a reputation as a major enforcer. He put up 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game last season for Brooklyn. Prior to that, Johnson played under the Pacers head coach Carlisle on the Dallas Mavericks in the 2020-21 season.
Indiana lost one high-usage player (TJ Warren) to the Nets in free agency this offseason after having traded another one (Malcolm Brogdon) to the Boston Celtics shortly prior. That means Johnson (plus Galloway for that matter) should have a good shot at making the final regular season roster.