Al Jefferson will reportedly sign with Pacers

Score another one for the Indiana Pacers.

Free agent center Al Jefferson has agreed in principle to a three-year, $30 million contract with the Pacers, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports.

After they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season, the Pacers have been aggressive to upgrade the roster and build a winning team around star player Paul George. Indiana acquired point guard Jeff Teague and forward Thaddeus Young in trades last week, and now they have a starting-caliber center in Jefferson.

Jefferson, 31, averaged 12 points and 6.4 rebounds in 47 regular-season games for the Charlotte Hornets last season. He missed 23 games after having knee surgery in December to address a lateral meniscus tear on his right knee. The 12-year veteran returned in late February and closed out the regular season strong with per-game averages of 14.3 points and 8.1 rebounds in the month of April.

This is a solid pickup by the Pacers, who already have a strong candidate to start at center in last year’s first-round pick Myles Turner.

About Marcelo Villa

Marcelo is an associate editor at The Sports Daily, and has covered the San Diego Chargers for Bleacher Report. He also writes for Sportsdirect Inc.

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