Tristan Thompson to Be Waived by Pacers, Sign Contract with Bulls

Veteran center Tristan Thompson's time with the Indiana Pacers has ended after just four games.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reports that the Pacers will waive Thompson, and he plans to sign with the Chicago Bulls once he clears waivers.

"It was fun while it lasted," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after Wednesday's win against the Washington Wizards. "He's gonna be joining a different team. He's gonna be waived tomorrow, and he'll be joining a contending team in the East."

The Pacers acquired Thompson at last week's trade deadline as part of the deal that brought in Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield from the Sacramento Kings. Indiana sent former All-Star forward Domantas Sabonis, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday and a 2023 second-round pick.

Indiana improved to 20-40 with Wednesday's win. Thompson had his best game since joining the team, finishing with 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting and six rebounds in 21 minutes. He had played 15 minutes in each of the last three games and failed to score in double figures in any of them, which were all losses for Indiana.

Despite his short time with the team, Carlisle provided Thompson with some praise on his way out.

"We thanked him for what he's brought for the last six or seven days," Carlisle said. "He's brought a high level of professionalism, and he's done a rellly good job."

Chicago took down the Kings at home on Wednesday in its last game before the All-Star break for its fifth straight victory. At 38-21, the Bulls are first in the Eastern Conference. Thompson will provide some depth to a Chicago frontcourt that has been thin behind former All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.