INDIANAPOLIS – Pacers starting player Andrew Nembhard played just five minutes in the first half of Wednesday’s game against the Celtics and didn’t come out of the locker room at halftime until the start of the third period. Bennedict Mathurin started in his place. However, the Pacers have not reported an injury to Nembhard, meaning the move is likely a decision by coach Rick Carlisle.

Mathurin has 20 points and counting.

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Andrew Nembhard statistics

Nembhard entered Wednesday’s game averaging 8.3 points on 38.2% shooting along with 2.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.

Andrew Nembhard contract

As a second-round draft pick, Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard was eligible for an extension to his rookie contract this summer, a year ahead of the first-rounders. However, the maximum amount of money teams can offer for second-round extensions is significantly less than the maximum contracts they can give to first-rounders. After averaging 14.9 points per game in the playoffs and exploding as a scorer in the final two games of the Eastern Conference finals against Boston with the loss of All-NBA guard Tyrese Haliburton, Nembhard’s record was high and he had legitimate reason to hold out for two years of free agency to see if another team would be willing to pay him big money to serve as the starting point guard.

Instead, Nembhard wasted no time in signing a three-year deal worth $58.7 million – the maximum allowed – that will take effect through the 2025-26 season. Haliburton has a five-year contract starting this year worth around $245 million, meaning he will make more than double Nembhard’s salary annually. But Nembhard never seriously considered waiting to see what he could get on the open market.

“I’ve never had this much money in my life and I’ve never played the game for money,” said Nembhard, whose rookie deal pays him just over $2 million a year. “It wasn’t that I wanted to bet on myself to make more money. I really enjoy being here. The team we have, the coaching staff, the entire organization. We’re all about the right things. I love coming here.” Work every day and I think that’s an underrated part of the NBA game. If you really enjoy your team and you really enjoy the process that you go through to win games, I think that’s more valuable than the money aspect, I have more than enough of what they gave me .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard won’t play against Celtics

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