Caris LeVert of the Indiana Pacers has kidney cancer surgery; expected full recovery

Indiana Pacers goalkeeper Caris LeVert is expected to fully recover after undergoing surgery to treat renal kidney cell carcinoma of his left kidney on Monday, the team said.

The operation was performed by Dr. Jason Sprunger at Community Hospital North in Indianapolis, and the team said no additional treatment was needed.

LeVert, who was acquired in the four-team trade that sent James Harden to the Nets and Victor Oladipo to the Rockets, will stay out indefinitely, the Pacers said.

The small mass on the kidneys was discovered during a team’s physical and medical tests before that transaction was completed.

The Pacers front office pledged to support him and stay with him throughout the process, without setting a time frame for his return.

“I’ve always known Caris from afar, I’ve never known him as a person,” Pacers center Myles Turner told ESPN. “I’ve always heard great things about him, obviously as a basketball player and as an individual, so I think that’s what we have in this culture. It will fit so well whenever it is, but right now we are not really worried about basketball with him. We want him to keep fighting through this. I think it was a real win for the organization. “