INDIANAPOLIS — Caris LeVert, who said his trade to the Indiana Pacers might have saved his life, underwent surgery Monday to treat renal cell carcinoma in his left kidney.
LeVert, 26, is expected to make a full recovery and will be out indefinitely following the procedure that was performed Community North Hospital. He will not require any further treatment, according to a news release from the team.
LeVert came to the Pacers from the Brooklyn Nets as part of a four-team trade that also sent former Pacers all-star Victor Oladipo to the Houston Rockets. Before the trade was finalized Jan. 16, a team physical and medical tests revealed the mass.
The new Pacers guard expressed his gratitude during a Jan. 19 news conference during which he said he had not experienced any symptoms.
"I was feeling 100% healthy," he said. "In a way this trade definitely showed and revealed what was going on in my body. I am definitely looking at it from that side and definitely humbled to know that this trade could have saved me in the long run."
LeVert averaged 18.5 points and six assists per game this season for the Nets before his trade to the Pacers.
