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Rakeem Christmas: Indiana Pacers Have Christmas in July

By Dave McKee

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Rakeem Christmas is the newest Indiana Pacer following a trade with Cleveland in exchange for their 2019 2nd-round pick.

The Indiana Pacers traded their 2019 2nd round draft pick – originally from the Lakers trade for Roy Hibbert – to Cleveland for Rakeem Christmas. He was the 36th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. The Syracuse alum averaged over 8 points and 4 rebounds per game during summer league play in Las Vegas.

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The Indiana Pacers had Rakeem Christmas in for pre-draft workouts earlier in May and liked what they saw. In fact, the Pacers liked him enough to make the trade for him. They also tweeted out the link to his pre-draft workout following the trade announcement.

Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird spoke with Pacers.com regarding the trade. “We really liked Rakeem when he came in for pre-draft workouts,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird. “He is a solid player who was a contributor all four years at Syracuse and we look forward to having him on our team.”

Wheat Hotchkiss of Pacers.com covered Rakeem Chrstmas’ pre-draft work out. Here is his scouting profile from then:

"“Christmas had a breakout performance at last weekend’s NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. He measured out at nearly 6-foot-10 in shoes with a frighteningly long 7-foot-5 wingspan. But Christmas really turned heads with his play on the court.Christmas dominated in five-on-five games on Thursday, scoring 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and collecting six rebounds in 29 minutes of action. The next day, he tallied another 19 points and six boards in 26 minutes. Those two performances have sent his stock soaring.“I was just out there having fun and playing my game,” Christmas said. “I mean, it was a great experience. Not a lot of people get to go out there and play. So, I just went out there and everything was falling for me.”Christmas was a late bloomer at Syracuse. Though he played a significant role for the Orange as an energetic shot-blocker and rebounder in his first three years on campus, Christmas took on a much heavier scoring load as a senior. His scoring average rocketed from 5.8 points per game as a junior to 17.5 in his final year (of his) collegiate season.An explosive athlete, Christmas has always had the raw talent to succeed at the next level. The consummate teammate, he was content to play a supporting role on loaded Syracuse teams that featured several players currently in the NBA (Michael Carter-Williams, Dion Waiters, Tyler Ennis, and Jerami Grant). But over the past year (and especially the past week), Christmas has shown that he’s also comfortable in the spotlight.”"

Pacers rookie Myles Turner was excited by the move and welcomed Rakeem Christmas to the team via Twitter.

The 6-9 250 lbs. rookie should fit in well as a rotational power forward or even as a center in a small ball lineup. Christmas is capable of gaining minutes along with Jordan Hill and Lavoy Allen in the traditional power forward postion. His 7-5 wingspan is a further asset playing as a small ball center.

Known for his shot blocking and rebounding while at Syracuse, he is still developing an offensive game that came along in his senior season for Syracuse. Christmas has a knack for toughness in the paint which would have been sorely missed this season following the departure of David West. Rakeem Christmas has above-average mobility and attacks the rim with a vengeance. With this addition Larry Bird may have his best draft class since 2010 when he selected Paul George and Lance Stephenson. For Bird and the Indiana Pacers it really is Christmas in July.

Next: Is Pagano on the Hot Seat?

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