ATLANTA, GEORGIA – OCTOBER 08: Clint Capela #15 of the Atlanta Hawks attempts a shot against James … More Wiseman #13 of the Indiana Pacers during the first quarter at State Farm Arena on October 08, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to trade center James Wiseman to the Toronto Raptors. It’s the only move that Indiana made in advance of the 2025 NBA trade deadline, and it’s all about finances.
To complete the deal, the Pacers will send the Raptors cash considerations. It will be more cash than the remaining value of Wiseman’s contract this season – Toronto comes out of the deal ahead in money. Indiana will receive a top-55 protected 2026 second-round draft pick from the Raptors. Toronto had to send something in the trade legally, but unless they have a top-five record in the league in 2025-26, the Pacers won’t receive that draft pick.
Why did the Pacers trade James Wiseman?
That’s all fine for the blue and gold. Their main appeal with this trade was the financial savings they gained. Wiseman, who signed with the Pacers this summer, suffered a torn Achilles in Indiana’s first game of the season. He hasn’t played since and is almost certainly going to miss the entire 2024-25 campaign.
“I just want to develop, I just want to learn. I don’t have any expectations or anything,” Wiseman said in the offseason of joining the Pacers. “This is already a winning team. So just coming in, just learning, just trying to see what I can do to [have an]
impact.”
Wiseman is on a two-year, minimum salary deal – the second season is covered by a team option. Minimum deals can be taken by essentially any team that isn’t hard capped, so moving his salary was simple for the Pacers. They had to find a taker, and the Raptors ended up being the partner.
By trading away Wiseman, the Pacers removed his cap hit from their salary books entirely. Indiana is now $2.4 million shy of the luxury tax with 14 players – and finances were going to be a major theme for the blue and gold at this trade deadline. They now have the financial wiggle room and roster space to bring in another player before the season ends.
That should be appealing to the team. Between Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, the Pacers were paying two players who weren’t likely to be available in the postseason. James Johnson, a sage veteran that the team loves, very rarely has on-court value for Indiana. They needed to find a way to bring enough another potential contributor, especially for the postseason. This move does that.
Indiana Pacers’ James Wiseman (13) dunks against the Cleveland Cavaliers during the second half of a … More preseason NBA basketball game in Cleveland, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Phil Long)
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Indiana now has an opportunity to add a player, and their most clear need would be a third center – they have little depth at the position behind Myles Turner and Thomas Bryant. They could look at free agents, or they could wait until the buyout market crystalizes. Converting the contract of Enrique Freeman, who is currently on a two-way deal, could be an option as well.
The Pacers may wait to actually sign someone. They have a few players with incentives in their contracts, so creating as much distance from the luxury tax as possible gives the organization more insurance that should some incentives hit, they still won’t be a tax paying team. Plus, the NBA’s buyout market doesn’t typically take shape until early March. Indiana can assess their options until then.
Without regard for what the Pacers could specifically add, their flexibility is important. They now have enough wiggle room to sign players to a 10-day contract(s), use part of their Mid-Level Exception, use a Disabled Player Exception, convert the contract of a two-way player (and then sign someone to another two-way deal), and much more. Those options are valuable, and it was worth trading away Wiseman and cash to get them. Indiana also creates a $2.2 million Traded Player Exception in this move.
Wiseman played in just one game for the Pacers this season, scoring six points and pulling in one rebound. His size and speed make him unique. But his injury changed his value to Indiana, and now he has a new home. It’s almost impossible for this trade to go wrong for the Pacers, but it can be more appropriately assessed once they fill their final roster spot.