Pacers to waive recently acquired guard

The Pacers will waive shooting guard Furkan Korkmaz after they officially acquire him from the Sixers, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Indiana agreed to trade Buddy Hield to Philadelphia in exchange for Marcus Morris, Korkmaz and three second-round picks. Given that the Pacers immediately made a deal to flip Morris to San Antonio and will cut Korkmaz, it’s clear those draft picks were the assets they were after, with the two former 76ers just viewed as salary-matching pieces.

Korkmaz has been with the Sixers since 2017 and played a regular rotation role for several seasons from 2019-22. However, his minutes have significantly declined in the past two seasons. In 2023-24, he has averaged 2.5 points per game on .395/.350/.700 shooting in 35 appearances off the bench (8.6 MPG).

Korkmaz is on an expiring $5,370,370 contract, so Indiana will be on the hook for that cap hit once he clears waivers.

The 26-year-old will be eligible to sign as a free agent with any NBA team except the Sixers, though he likely wouldn’t have pursued a reunion with his former team anyway, given that he has sought a trade out of Philadelphia multiple times in recent years.