Report: Tristan Thompson Contract Buyout Mulled By Pacers After Trade from Kings

The Indiana Pacers are deciding whether to buy out the remainder of center Tristan Thompson's contract, per James Boyd of the Indianapolis Star.

Thompson is on the final season of a two-year, $18,978,900 deal. The Pacers acquired him in a six-player trade that notably featured two-time All-Star big man Domantas Sabonis going to Sacramento and Kings guard Tyrese Haliburton heading to Indiana.

The 11-year-veteran averaged 6.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game for the Kings this season.

The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Thompson with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He played nine seasons in Cleveland, averaging 9.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.

Thompson played an integral role on the Cavs' four Eastern Conference title teams from 2014-15 to 2017-18, winning it all in 2016 against the 73-win Golden State Warriors.

The big man averaged a double-double (10.3 points, 10.1 rebounds) during the NBA Finals and notably dominated in Game 6 with a 15-point, 16-board outing.

After a nine-year career in Cleveland, Thompson signed a two-year deal with the Boston Celtics, where he served as the team's starting center for 43 games and averaged 7.6 points and 8.1 rebounds.

Following the season, the Celtics sent him to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team, four-player deal also involving the Atlanta Hawks.

Now Thompson finds himself on the Pacers, who are in the midst of a major rebuild after dealing their top star in Sabonis as well as one of the best players in Caris LeVert, who is now a Cleveland Cavalier.

Thompson probably doesn't fit into the Pacers' long-term plans with the team appearing to embrace a significant rebuild, and he's probably best-suited contributing for a playoff-contending team down the stretch. At any rate, he'll be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.