Pacers, Goga Bitadze don’t agree to rookie scale extension

INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers and Goga Bitadze did not come to a contract agreement before the Monday deadline for 2019 first-round draft picks, a source confirmed to IndyStar. The third-year center will now be a restricted free agent after the 2022-23 season.

First-round draft picks receive set salaries for their first three seasons and teams have significant leverage for the fourth year. If they don’t negotiate an extension, players become restricted free agents. Bitadze can sign an offer sheet with another team but the Pacers have the option to match that offer. So if Bitadze has a breakout season, the Pacers would still retain significant control over where he plays.

Bitadze was the No. 18 pick in the 2019 draft and has averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds per game, but has seen limited time on the court throughout his career. He averaged a career high in minutes last year with 15 per game. He played 54 games his rookie season and hasn’t topped that mark since.

Btadze spent the most recent preseason coming off the bench behind Myles Turner and Isaiah Jackson. Bitadze could find himself in the rotation if Turner, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, is traded.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers center Goga Bitadze to be restricted free agent after season