The Indiana Pacers announced Wednesday they have acquired point guard Darren Collison and forward James Posey from the New Orleans Hornets as part of a four-team, five-player trade.
Collison, a second-year point guard out of UCLA, played in 76 games for the Hornets in the 2009-10 season, where he averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists per game. He was a starter for 37 of those games, and as a starter his averages were 18.8 ppg and 9.1 apg. The 6-0, 160-pound Collison was also named to the 2009-10 T-Mobile NBA All-Rookie First Team and was named the NBA T-Mobile Western Conference Rookie of the Month for February.
“We’re excited to add Darren to the strong core of young players already on our roster,” said Larry Bird, Pacers President of Basketball Operations. “He’s a dynamic young point guard and we believe that he will be a key piece of our goal of building a team that the fans in Indiana deserve.”
Posey, a veteran forward out of Xavier, has spent 11 seasons in the NBA with career averages of 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. In the 2009-10 season with the Hornets, he averaged 5.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Over his 11 seasons, Posey has played for Denver, Houston, Memphis, Miami and Boston.
As part of the deal, the Pacers will send veteran forward Troy Murphy to the New Jersey Nets. Other considerations in the deal include Trevor Ariza going to New Orleans and Courtney Lee to the Houston Rockets. Murphy, a nine-year veteran forward out of Notre Dame, spent three and a half seasons with the Pacers and played in 262 games for the blue and gold, with averages of 13.3 ppg and 9.2 rpg.
“Troy is a terrific professional and has been a really good player and teammate during his time with us,” said Bird. “Obviously, we wish him well and hope this works out for all of us.”
according to wthr.com and pacers.com
