Daniel Theis Has Knee Surgery And Will Miss More Time For Indiana Pacers

Indiana Pacers center Daniel Theis had knee surgery this week and will remain sidelined.

The Pacers annoucned the procedure on Thursday. Per the team, Theis underwent a successful surgical procedure on his right knee to address persistent soreness. He’s out indefinitely.

Theis has been dealing with the knee injury all season and has yet to play for the blue and gold. He participated in a few practices earlier on and was ramping up his activity level recently, but he must have been dealing with more pain if he needed the surgery.

“There’s a lot of treatment, rehab, [and] diagnostic things that went into this decision. Everyone was very comfortable that this was the right path,” head coach Rick Carlisle said of the choice to have Theis undergo the procedure.

Theis didn’t have much of an offseason. His prior team, the Boston Celtics, reached the NBA Finals, meaning Theis played in NBA games until June 16. 23 days later, he was traded from the Celtics to the Pacers. Then in August, he joined the German national basketball team for FIBA World Cup qualifying play and EuroBasket. He nearly missed the competition with his knee pain, but he pushed through.

EuroBasket ended just nine days before training camp began for the Pacers, so Theis effectively had no gap between last season and the ongoing one. Now, with the season under way, he needed surgery to address the soreness in the knee.

The big man was dealt to the Pacers in July when Indiana sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics. He was a bit surprised to be moved at the time, but he has begun to settle in with the Pacers along with Aaron Nesmith, who was also a part of the deal.

“I’m just trying to help everybody to have the right mentality,” Theis said during training camp about being a leader for the Pacers this season.

Having the German big man available is better than not purely for depth reasons. But Theis likely won’t play for the blue and gold even when he is healthy, the team has multiple young big men more deserving of minutes. This injury won’t cause Indiana much strain in games — Theis has not played in a game yet this season. But if he recovers, and there are trades or frontcourt injuries in the future, he could be a needed depth player for Carlisle’s team.

Theis will make just under $8.7 million this season. Teams that are over the salary cap can apply for a disabled player exception to get an extra roster spot and replace players who are out for the year. But Theis has not been announced as out for the season, and the Pacers are under the salary cap, so this is not relevant for Indiana.

“We’ll give you guys an update in a couple weeks,” Carlisle said when talking about a timeline for Theis’ recovery, though he did not offer any specific dates. “Daniel’s thing is probably going to be a little bit more slow moving,” he added of the recovery process.

Theis can still provide off-court value for the blue and gold as a veteran and locker room presence. The five-year veteran is the third oldest Pacer. But he won’t provide on-court value until he recovers from his sore knee.

Daniel Theis has three years left on his contract, though there is a team option on the final season. He could be available to make his debut for the Indiana Pacers later this campaign. In the meantime, the Pacers will continue on as they were in the frontcourt while Theis adds value in the locker room and at practice.