Source: Matthew Stockman / Getty
The Indiana Pacers officially introduced Bruce Brown on Thursday, almost a week after it was reported that the team had agreed to a 2-year, $45 million deal.
During the press conference, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was asked about how Brown would fit in with the team as a whole.
“He has great diversity as a player.“ Carlisle said. “The thing I love about him, the number one thing as a team that needs to get better defensively, is that every night we know we’re going to have a guy that we can put on the best perimeter player, and he’s going to take the challenge and he’s going to love the challenge.”
Carlisle was also asked about how Brown will be able to contribute on the offensive side of the ball.
“He’s become a very efficient long-range shooter.” said Carlisle. “The NBA is a multi-level game. There’s a lot of talk about how mid-range, you don’t want to shoot those shots, but Bruce has shot those shots pretty well from Day 1. He’s added the long range, and he’s always been a good rim attacker. He is just the kind of aggressive guy that will really help us at both ends of the floor.”
Brown also gave his opinion on how he will mesh with his new team.
“I just think it’s a perfect fit. Tyrese [Haliburton] was recruiting me a little bit.“ Brown said. “I’m a defender, that’s how I made my name in this league. They need me to do that, to fit in, to play that role, and I think I’m perfect for that.”
During Thursday’s edition of The Ride With JMV, John spoke with Tony East of Locked On Pacers and Forbes. Tony was asked about Bruce Brown and his contract with the Pacers.
“Bruce Brown was the 2nd best guy who changed teams.“ East said. “It just so happens that he’s also a brilliant transition player and does a lot of the guard-guard screening stuff the Pacers are good at, and can play defense at the point of attack, something the Pacers were atrocious at last year.”
Listen to JMV’s conversation with Tony and more below, and tune into The Ride With JMV from 3-6pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan!