First Day of Free Agency Quiet for Pacers as Training Camp Begins; Jeff Foster to Return

Similar to the unbridled anticipation of recent trade deadlines where deals were expected and...ultimately non-existent, the same ended up true for the Pacers on the first official day of free agency. While plenty happened around the NBA, including one of the most bizarre trade stories ever in New Orleans on top of possible tampering in New Jersey, the headlines Indiana made were more about who they fell out of the running for, rather than additions made to the team.

The New Jersey Nets, in between those aforementioned tampering claims, found time to offer Nene a 4 year, $60-65 million dollar contract. Even though the Pacers were heavily invested in the Nene sweepstakes, a four-year deal for that kind of money put him out of the range Indiana is willing to pay for him, entirely for good reason. However, the Pacers will add to their front court depth when they resign of Jeff Foster tomorrow. Mike Wells tweeted that Jeff will return on a one-year deal, officially making him the second longest tenured Pacer of all time.

Also worth noting in the tweet was James Posey not being present for the start of training camp as the team weighs their options with him. Indiana did bring in some help for training camp, enlisting free agents Darnell Lazare, Jarrid Famous, Matt Rogers, and Tyren Johnson for the training camp roster, all according to Wells. Fans of the Mad Ants will no doubt recognize Lazare, who averaged 16 points and 7 rebounds with Fort Wayne last season.

While Indiana didn't make any free agency headlines, the stories regarding free agency will continuously evolve, especially given the condensed nature of the free agency period. Nene may be out of reach, but there are still plenty of viable front court options (as well as Jamal Crawford rumors) to keep the Pacers heavily involved.