NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 07: T.J. McConnell #9 of the Indiana Pacers drives to the basket as Elfrid … [+] Payton #6 of the New York Knicks defends in an NBA basketball game on December 7, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Pacers won 104-103. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
Getty ImagesThe Indiana Pacers announced their training camp roster on Tuesday, and those who kept up with their offseason saw no surprises.
The Pacers are bringing 18 players into camp, and it’s the 18 that they had officially all signed by July 25. All 15 players on standard contracts as well as the three two-way contract players will comprise Indiana’s roster for this week and beyond.
“The roster we have is deep,” general manager Chad Buchanan said last week.
Despite having a deep roster of players who could get minutes on most teams, the Pacers are below the salary cap by about $7.5 million right now. They have prioritized flexibility throughout the team-building process, and that’s evident with their 2023-24 group.
Indiana made several transactions to benefit their team ahead of camp, though none of them had a significant impact on what the earliest days of this Pacers season will look like. To open things up, the team agreed to contracts with guard Craig Sword and wing Pedro Bradshaw last week.
Both deals contained Exhibit 10 language. An Exhibit 10 contract is beneficial for players signed near or in training camp. It is a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum salary agreement that can be converted to a two-way contract. If a player with an Exhibit 10 deal is waived, and then said player reports to the G League for at least 60 days, they can receive a financial bonus up to $75,000.
Bradshaw played for Indiana’s G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, last season — the Pacers organization already had Bradshaw’s affiliate rights. The Mad Ants made a trade in early September to acquire Sword’s affiliate rights, so both players would be in Indiana’s organization if they head to the G League this year.
Two days later, both players were waived. The sign-and-waive combination was done with the G League in mind, and both players will be with the Indiana Mad Ants this year if they go that route. The Mad Ants are in the process of moving from Fort Wayne to Noblesville, so they have a different team name for the coming campaign.
After the transactions involving Sword and Bradshaw, the Pacers made similar moves with NBA veterans Jordan Bell and Elfrid Payton. Payton was with the Mad Ants for the final 10 games of the 2022-23 season, and Bell was with the squad for his most recent G League stint in 2021-22. Indiana owned the G League affiliate rights for both players already.
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – JANUARY 28: Jordan Bell #2 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball … [+] against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on January 28, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Getty Images“I still feel like I can play in the NBA. Those decisions are not for me,” Payton said last season of joining the Mad Ants. “This was something that I thought I could do to help my career. Try to come knock it out.”
All four players technically signed a contract with the Pacers, but each transaction was motivated by G League goals. The Mad Ants will play in Indianapolis all season as they transition from city to city.
It’s a one-year proposition, but Indiana’s affiliate team will practice in the Pacers facilities when they can and will play games in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Pacers have home games. That setup is as good as it gets in the G League and is appealing to players.
“That’s huge. You don’t have to drive two hours,” Pacers two-way contract wing Kendall Brown said of the arrangement. “You’ve got the home court. You can sleep in your own bed,”
Indiana enters training camp with just 18 players participating instead of the maximum 21. Many teams opt to have 21, but given that the Pacers roster and contract outlook is mostly settled and the team has several competitions to monitor already in camp, a smaller roster makes sense. With no NBA path to offer exhibit 10 signees, they can just focus on their 18 players with guaranteed contracts.
The Pacers have already completed two practices with their group. Their first preseason game is on Sunday. It’s possible that the team makes more Exhibit 10 signings (and, in turn, waivers), and it would likely come on a day that they have some sort of practice prior to the regular season. Darius McGhee falls into that category, no G League team currently owns his affiliate rights. Other undrafted players could also theoretically be in the mix, but things are beginning to feel settled in Indiana.