Pacers to acquire Cory Joseph in a C.J. Miles sign-and-trade with Raptors

For the past week, the Indiana Pacers have been in talks to acquire Cory Joseph from the Toronto Raptors, a deal that was confirmed this afternoon when the Pacers traded for Joseph in a sign-and-trade for C.J. Miles, according to Adrian Wojnarowski.

Miles will sign for 3 years, $25 million with Toronto, while Indiana will gain Joseph on a contract year at just shy of $8 million. The acquisition will put Indiana about $6 million under the cap, but will give them more versatility with the point guard position with Joseph.

Joseph started 22 games this past season in place of the injured Kyle Lowry and averaged 11.2 points and five assists in that stretch. He’ll enter the season at 26, and can look to be a long-term fit for the Pacers, who will be six years younger on their player turnover alone. The only real issue with the acquisition comes as a redundancy with the signing of Collison.

The Pacers now have 14 guaranteed roster spots, but are still starved at the wing position, and just jettisoned Miles, one of their lone options at the small forward position. Though the game of basketball shifts towards being more positionless, the three spot on its own is the most vival position in the league today, creating an immediate and constant concern for the Pacers.

Indiana will be relying a lot on guys being forced to play that position, which puts heavy reliance on guards Glenn Robinson III and Lance Stephenson to be the primary defenders for the league’s most dangerous wings or are crossing their fingers that Georges Niang will be ready and able to guard Kevin Durant and LeBron James with confidence.

With Joseph, however, Indiana will gain a peace of mind at the point guard spot even with the roster imbalance. Pacers fans will best remember Joseph however for his devastating impact in the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs, when he became a man possessed off the bench for Toronto, giving them a much needed reprieve from the lackluster shooting of Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. For more on Joseph’s strengths and weaknesses, be sure to check out CC’s breakdown.