The Indiana Pacers re-signed forwards/centers Lavoy Allen and Shayne Whittington to contracts Monday.
The team also signed guard/forward Glenn Robinson III and forward Rakeem Christmas.
The 6-foot-9, 260-pound Allen is entering his fifth season in the NBA and his third with the Pacers after being acquired via trade from the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2014. He was drafted by the 76ers as the 50th overall pick in the 2011 draft. He has career averages of 5.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
“We think he’s ready to step in and play more minutes at two different positions,” Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said of Allen in a statement. “This is a great opportunity for him to play night in and night out at a high level.”
The 6-11, 250-pound Whittington is entering his second season in the NBA after signing with the Pacers last year as an undrafted rookie. With the Pacers, he appeared in 20 games during the 2014-15 season. He was assigned to play with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the during their playoff run that resulted in a trip to the Development League Finals. Whittington appeared in five postseason games with the Mad Ants, averaging 4.6 points and 4.8 rebounds.
“Shayne has been with us for more than a year and shown us a lot of good things,” Bird said. “He has grown as a player, has improved and we expect him to continue to do so to be a part of what we do. He’s a hard worker with a variety of skills for a big man.”
The 6-7, 222-pound Robinson is in his second season in the NBA after being drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round (40th overall pick) of the 2014 draft. He played 25 games with the Timberwolves before being waived. He was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia, with whom he played 10 games. Overall in 35 games as a rookie, he averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.
The 6-9, 250-pound Christmas was acquired by the Pacers on July 23 from the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was a second-round pick in June’s draft. He was selected 36th overall by Minnesota and was traded later draft night to the Cavaliers. He played collegiately at Syracuse where in his senior season he averaged 17.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
