Scola joins Pacers from Suns

INDIANAPOLIS: Luis Scola, who helped Argentina win Olympic gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics, was traded from the NBA’s Phoenix Suns to the Indiana Pacers on Saturday.

The 33-year-old centre and power forward spent last season with the Suns after five seasons with the Houston Rockets. He has career averages of 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds a game.

The Pacers sent forward Gerald Green, center Miles Plumlee and a future firstround NBA Draft choice to the Suns in exchange for Scola.

‘‘I’m very, very excited to play for the Pacers,’’ Scola said.

‘‘They are one of the top three teams in the NBA with a good shot to win a championship. I think it’s a great team and this is a great opportunity.’’

The Pacers lost to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals, but pushed the eventual league champions to the maximum seven games in the play-off semi-final series.

‘‘Luis will be a very important asset to our team and to our bench,’’ Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said. ‘‘He has NBA experience, international experience and is the type of player that will fit in nicely on our roster.’’

Green averaged 7.0 points a game in 60 appearances for Indiana last season while Plumlee played only 14 games last season, averaging 0.9 points and 1.6 rebounds.