INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indiana Pacers have traded forward Wayman Tisdale to the Sacramento Kings for center-forward LaSalle Thompson and guard Randy Wittman, the Indianapolis Star reported Monday.
Indiana General Manager Donnie Walsh had no comment on the report Sunday night, but Tisdale and Wittman told the newspaper the deal was complete.
The Kings would also receive a future second-round draft pick, the report said.
'I've already talked to everybody about it and it went through,' Tisdale told the newspaper. 'My reaction is a little mixed, but hey, I knew it was coming. I knew something was going to happen and this was for the best.'
The trade involves two struggling teams. The Pacers are 11-38 have lost 10 straight. Sacramento is 14-35.
Last week, Tisdale, who has spent most of his four seasons coming off the bench, asked to be traded if he did not receive more playing time. Soon after making that statement, a lower leg injury sidelined starting forward Herb Willims, giving Tisdale a chance to start.
In the last three games, Tisdale has averaged 40 minutes, 17 points and 14 rebounds. Tisdale, a career 15-point per game scorer, is averaging 16 points and 6.5 rebounds this year.
At Sacramento, the 6-foot-7 Tisdale, the second overall pick in the 1985 draft out of Oklahoma, is likely to start.
'It excites me because Wayman Tisdale with the ball is how I know me,' he said. 'Wayman Tisdale without the ball is how I know me in Indiana. It was a different me.
'I'm not saying I wanted to be traded or anything like that, but I wanted my situation to be different. If I was going to be on a team that was 11-38, I didn't want to come off the bench.'
Sacramento Coach Jerry Reynolds did not confirm the trade, but did say, 'We needed to make a move for a consistent post-up type player and Wayman Tisdale would fit the bill extremely well.'
Thompson, who couldn't be reached for comment, averaged 15 points and 9.1 rebounds for Sacramento this season. He was the Kings' first pick, fifth overall, in 1982.
Wittman is an Indianapolis native who played at Ben Davis High School and Indiana University. He said he was 'excited' to join the Pacers.
'It's a relief to get out of (Sacramento) finally,' said Wittman, 6-6, who has averaged just 3.8 points in his first year with Kings after averaging 10 points in five years with Atlanta.
'It's just a situation that didn't work out here,' Wittman said. 'I knew Indiana was interested, but I didn't know if it would ever work out. I'm really happy to come to Indiana.'
