A four-team deal sends guard Darren Collison and forward James Posey to the Indiana Pacers.
New Orleans guard Darren Collison will be directing the offense for the Indianapolis Pacers after a four-way deal involving the Pacers, Houston and New Jersey.Indianapolis -- The Indiana Pacers have acquired point guard Darren Collison and forward James Posey from New Orleans in a four-way trade that also includes New Jersey and Houston.
The Pacers also announced Wednesday they have dealt Troy Murphy to the Nets, who sent guard Courtney Lee to Houston. To complete the trade, the Rockets shipped swingman Trevor Ariza to New Orleans.
Indiana was searching for a point guard since T.J. Ford fell out of favor last season with coach Jim O'Brien. The Pacers get a good young one in Collison, who played well when Chris Paul was injured. He averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists as a rookie last season, including 18.8 points and 9.1 assists in 37 starts.
"We're excited to add Darren to the strong core of young players already on our roster," Pacers president Larry Bird said in a statement. "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."
Murphy played in 262 games for the Pacers, with averages of 13.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
"Troy is a terrific professional and has been a really good player and teammate during his time with us," Bird said. "Obviously, we wish him well and hope this works out for all of us."
The Nets get a good rebounder in the 6-foot-11 Murphy, a New Jersey product who is an excellent outside shooter for his size. The former first-round pick from Notre Dame is a career 39 percent shooter from 3-point range.
"We are very pleased to add Troy to our roster," Nets general manager Billy King said. "He is a quality power forward who has the ability to stretch the floor, and we feel that he will be a very positive addition to our frontcourt rotation."
Posey has spent 11 seasons in the NBA with career averages of 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Last season, he averaged 5.2 points and 4.3 rebounds. The cash-strapped Hornets were able to move the remaining two years and more than $13 million remaining on Posey's contract.
The Rockets were looking to cut salary after re-signing point guard Kyle Lowry and power forward Luis Scola, both restricted free agents, and picking up backup center Brad Miller.
Ariza was due to make about $6.3 million this season, the first of four years left on his contract. Houston acquired Ariza in July 2009, when free agent Ron Artest decided to join the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Rockets envisioned the 6-8 Ariza developing into a dependable scoring threat on the wing. He averaged a career-high 14.9 points in 72 games last season, but shot 39.4 percent from the field and 33.4 percent from 3-point range.
The 6-5 Lee averaged 12.5 points in 71 games for the Nets last season, including 66 starts. He shot 43.6 percent from the field last season and will likely back up shooting guard Kevin Martin with the Rockets.
Lee and Ariza are both on the move again after brief stints with their teams. The Nets acquired Lee from Orlando on draft night in 2009 in the Vince Carter deal, while Ariza joined the Rockets as a free agent after helping the Lakers to that season's NBA championship.