Pacers Rumors

Nevada Assistant Kyle Guy Joining Pacers On Exhibit 10 Deal

Kyle Guy, who was hired in April as an assistant coach at Nevada, will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with the Pacers, the school announced (via Twitter). The plan is for the 28-year-old guard to play for Indiana’s G League affiliate in Noblesville, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link).

Guy, who was named Most Outstanding Player at the 2019 NCAA Tournament after winning the national title with Virginia, began his coaching career as a mentor/special assistant with UVA in 2024. He left after one season “to pursue a new coaching opportunity” and landed at Nevada as an assistant to Steve Alford.

Guy played two seasons with Sacramento after being selected with the 55th pick in the 2019 draft. He also spent part of the 2021/22 season with Miami before heading overseas. His most recent stint as an active player was in 2024 in the Spanish ACB League.

He appeared in 53 total NBA games over three seasons, averaging 3.1 points per night while shooting 36.1% from the field and 30.3% from three-point range.

The Pacers have a full 21-man roster, so another move will be necessary before Guy’s contract can be finalized. Once he joins the G League team, he’ll be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days there.

Eastern Notes: Porter, Celtics, Magic, Hornets, Wiseman

Responding to a question about Kevin Porter Jr.‘s increased responsibilities in 2025/26 now that Damian Lillard is no longer on the roster, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers suggested that the plan will be to start Porter at point guard, as Eric Nehm of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

“He started out as a high draft pick. He started. They put the ball in his hands. He could literally take any shot and he did,” Rivers said. “And now he comes from that, from not playing at times, coming off the bench, being out of the league, to now back to starting. And that’s a huge a responsibility for him to run the team and still be aggressive. That’s the hardest thing to do, I think, in basketball is from the point guard, understand when and when. It’s just hard, and so I’m sure at times he’ll be great at it and then at times he may struggle at it, but we’ll support him and get him right.”

As Rivers alluded to in his comments, Porter was the starting point guard in Houston from 2021-23, but was out of the NBA during the 2023/24 season due to a domestic violence incident.

Returning to action last season, Porter was up and down for the Clippers, but thrived following a deadline deal to Milwaukee. In 30 regular season outings for the Bucks, he averaged 11.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 19.9 minutes per game and posted a shooting line of .494/.408/.871.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Brian Robb of MassLive.com shares his takeaways from the Celtics‘ first day of practice on Tuesday, which featured an appearance from former Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins. Jenkins got a first-hand look at another former Grizzly, big man Xavier Tillman, who appears to be back to 100% after being plagued by knee issues in 2024/25. “From just a playing perspective, (last season) was very hard,” Tillman said, per Robb. “Just wanting to play, wanting to contribute. But I also knew I was going through stuff myself. My knee would have days where it would just swell up into a balloon after I had one scrimmage or stuff like that. So I knew consistency-wise, I could be there to kind of support. But as far as my actual play, I couldn’t do everything I wanted to do.”
  • Speaking of former Grizzlies, Magic newcomers Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones also played together in Memphis under Jenkins, and their chemistry has been on display so far at Orlando’s training camp, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic details. “There’s a comfort level that they have with one another,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said of the duo. “Their veteran leadership, knowing that they’re calling each other out, going to the same baskets. There’s just something about them and their experience through this league that just says, one, they’ve been together before and, if I didn’t (already) know it, I would have thought it.”
  • The Hornets officially announced a series of changes and additions to their basketball operations staff, including confirming that former Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune as been hired as an assistant coach, as was first reported in August.
  • Although he admits he was “shocked” and disappointed when he tore his Achilles last fall, Pacers center James Wiseman said he got through the recovery process “one day at a time” and believes he’s now in the best shape of his career, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. According to head coach Rick Carlisle, Wiseman was one of the team’s best performers in a conditioning test last week. “You think about what he’s gone through with his rehab and everything else and this is a week before camp, he’s out there with some of our best conditioned wings and guards,” Carlisle said. “That’s a strong statement.”

Pacers Notes: Nembhard, Siakam, Mathurin, Centers

After starting alongside Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton for most of his first three NBA seasons, Andrew Nembhard is preparing to take on a more significant on-ball role in 2025/26 as Haliburton spends the year recovering from the Achilles tear he suffered in June.

“It changes my whole perception of the game,” Nembhard said on Monday, per Joshua Heron of The Indianapolis Star. “Bringing the ball up is a whole new way of looking at the game instead of running off the ball.”

While Haliburton has been Indiana’s offensive engine and lead play-maker since joining the Pacers in 2022, it won’t simply be a matter of plugging in Nembhard as the new point guard and making Pascal Siakam the primary scoring option, according to Siakam, who suggested that replacing Haliburton will be a group effort.

“I think for us, last year and the way we play, it’s always been about team,” the star forward said, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. “It’s never been about one person. I think this year it’s not gonna be different. We all are gonna have to do it collectively. I was telling the guys, it’s not going to take one person to replace Ty. We’re gonna all have to do it collectively. That’s the way we have to think about it.”

Siakam is aware that he’ll be one of the players who is asked to take on more ball-handling and play-making responsibilities without Haliburton available. That’s not a problem for the 31-year-old, who got accustomed to operating on the ball and initiating the offense during his time in Toronto.

“I’ve done that in the past,” Siakam said. “I think just watching my last two years you don’t really see some of the other things I’ve done before. I feel like one of the funniest questions coach asked me was, ‘Oh, have you had a triple-double before?’ It was like, “Well yeah, I’ve had multiple.’ I can do that too. I feel like what makes me different is that I can adapt to every situation and I’ve worked on every facet of my game.”

We have more out of Indiana:

  • It’s an important fall for Bennedict Mathurin, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension and is on track to join Nembhard in Indiana’s starting backcourt. The fourth-year wing said at media day on Monday that making “better reads and smarter decisions” will be a key to success for him, according to Dopirak. Head coach Rick Carlisle agreed. “We just need him to run hard, shoot open shots that are there and make simple reads offensively. Our game is played best when it’s fast and simple,” Carlisle said, adding that Mathurin will likely see greater defensive challenges too. “… There’s a very good chance he’ll be asked to guard the ball on a lot of situations.”
  • Four spots in the Pacers’ starting lineup look set, as Aaron Nesmith will likely join Nembhard, Mathurin, and Siakam in that group. That leaves the center spot up for grabs, with Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff considered the leading candidates and James Wiseman and Tony Bradley also in the mix. “We have four guys that really are very, very good,” Carlisle said, per Dopirak. “They all bring something different. A lot of this, we just gotta play it out in training camp and the preseason games and see what’s what. I don’t have any preconceived notions as to who’s going to start.” Carlisle acknowledged that Jackson has been working with the starting group in pickup games, but praised the other three centers on the roster and noted that Huff’s ability to shoot and protect the rim will be an “important ingredient” for the club.
  • In a separate story for The Indy Star, Dopirak passed along notable media day quotes from several other Pacers players, including T.J. McConnell, who knows that he and a few of his teammates will have to step up as leaders with Haliburton out and James Johnson no longer on the team. “I’ve never been a guy to use my voice too much,” McConnell said. “… James and Tyrese were those constant voices. Not only myself, but others have to step up and have more of a voice, not just when they see something.”

Pacers Sign Guard Delon Wright

September 27: The Pacers have signed Wright to an Exhibit 9 contract, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets.


September 25: The Pacers are planning to sign Delon Wright to their training camp roster, per Pacers insider Tony East (Twitter link). That signing is pending a physical.

Originally, the Pacers agreed to sign Monte Morris to their training camp roster, but as general manager Chad Buchanan told reporters on Thursday, that signing is no longer taking place due to a calf injury.

While there are no details yet on Wright’s contract, it seems likely that he agreed to a deal similar in structure to Morris’, which was expected to be a one-year, non-guaranteed pact.

When the Morris news broke, it was reported that he would compete in training camp for a roster spot with James Wiseman and Tony Bradley, whose contracts are not fully guaranteed. The Pacers have 13 players on standard, guaranteed contracts. They also have three players signed to Exhibit 10 deals.

Wright began last season with the Bucks before being traded to the Knicks ahead of the deadline. He averaged 3.1 points per game across 40 appearances with both teams. He was a bit more productive in New York, averaging 4.3 points and 2.1 assists per night and making six playoff appearances.

If Wright is on an NBA roster this year, it will be his 11th season in the league; if he sticks with the Pacers, it will be his 11th different team. He holds career averages of 6.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.

Pacers Waive Samson Johnson

The Pacers have waived Samson Johnson, according to the NBA.com’s transaction log.

Johnson signed his Exhibit 10 contract with Indiana on September 23, though the deal had reportedly been agreed to near the end of June.

The 6’10” forward played four years for UConn, winning two national championships in 2023 and 2024. In his senior year, he averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 19.4 minutes per game.

Johnson went undrafted earlier this year, then played in two games for the Pacers’ Summer League team, scoring six points and collecting two blocks in 16 total minutes.

This move lets the Pacers to keep Johnson in their system, and will allow him to earn a bonus of up to $85,300 if he stays with Indiana’s G League affiliate, the Noblesville Bloom, for 60 days or more.

Central Notes: Pacers, Giannis, Giddey, Bulls, Pistons

The Pacers won’t have their star point guard and team leader Tyrese Haliburton available at all in 2025/26 while he recovers from an Achilles tear. However, that doesn’t mean the team views the coming season as a “gap year,” as Dustin Dopirak writes for The Indianapolis Star.

“I don’t think that’s ever been what we’ve been about,” general manager Chad Buchanan told reporters on Thursday. “With Mr. (Herb) Simon as our owner, it’s always been about trying to compete and trying to win. Some years are going to be more challenging than others. Obviously, we’re down Tyrese and that will make some challenges. But we’re not looking at this as a year to try and get through. We’d never wish away a season.”

The Pacers are widely expected to take a step backward without Haliburton after making the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 and NBA Finals in 2025. Oddsmakers view them as more likely to miss the playoffs than to make it. While Buchanan acknowledged that playing without Haliburton will likely affect Indiana’s style, slowing down the pace of the offense, he pointed out that most of the rest of the roster (with the notable exception of center Myles Turner) is returning and that those players have exhibited a tendency to defy expectations.

“This team has shown that they come together when people kinda doubt them,” Buchanan said. “I think they feel and they sense and they hear the doubt about this season for us. We’re still going to have a lot of the same identity. We still have a lot of the same core pieces on this team. The traits that those guys bring, what our coaches bring, are still there. I wouldn’t put a limit on anything this year.”

Here’s more from around the Central:

  • Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, in an interview with Sport24, said he could envision himself playing for a European club later in his career if the timing and conditions were right, as Eurohoops relays. Antetokounmpo also suggested he’s probably not the only European star who feels that way. “Of course it can happen,” he said. “If you told (Nikola) Jokic that he would earn roughly the same money and be back home in Serbia, he would do it. For me, I think a lot about my body. The money is very different, and not just the money – the whole organization is completely different. You’ve been to the NBA, you’ve seen how things work. But every year when I play for the national team, I always end up saying the same thing.”
  • Josh Giddey‘s new four-year contract with the Bulls is worth exactly $100MM, is fully guaranteed (with no incentives or options), and features annual cap hits of $25MM, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. The flat structure of the deal means it will be worth a smaller percentage of the salary cap in future seasons, allowing Chicago to maximize its flexibility down the road.
  • The Bulls announced a series of promotions and additions within their basketball opreations department, including naming Faizan Hasnany as their executive director of basketball strategy and analytics.
  • Longtime Pistons scout Durand “Speedy” Walker has earned a promotion and will serve as the president of basketball operations of the Motor City Cruise, the team’s G League affiliate, according to a press release. Walker has more than 18 years of experience in the organization.

Pacers Won’t Sign Guard Monte Morris

September 25: Morris won’t be signing with the Pacers after all, since he recently suffered a calf strain, general manager Chad Buchanan told reporters on Thursday (Twitter link via Tony East).


September 23: Veteran point guard Monte Morris has agreed to a one-year contract with the Pacers, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets. It will be a non-guaranteed deal, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets.

The Pacers have 13 players on the roster with fully guaranteed contracts, so there’s room for Morris to earn his way onto the opening night roster. Indiana had a full camp roster, so the team will need to make a corresponding move to complete the signing.

With Tyrese Haliburton expected to miss the entire season, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell are expected to hold down the top two spots at the point. Morris can provide insurance at that position if he makes the team.

Morris, 30, played 45 games off the bench for the Suns last season. He averaged 5.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 12.7 minutes per contest.

Morris has also played for Denver, Washington, Detroit and Minnesota. Overall, he has seen action in 420 NBA regular season contests and has averaged 9.5 points and 3.6 assists in 23.4 minutes with solid shooting numbers (47.4% overall and 38.9% on threes).

Pacers Add Samson Johnson, Gabe McGlothan On Camp Deals

The Pacers have added big man Samson Johnson and forward Gabe McGlothan on Exhibit 10 contracts and waived guards Steven Ashworth and RJ Felton, according to a team press release.

It’s expected that Johnson and McGlothan will also be waived in the near future with the intent of having them join their NBA G League franchise, the Noblesville Boom. Each player would be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Noblesville.

Indiana’s intent to sign Johnson was reported just after he went undrafted in June. Johnson won back-to-back national championships with UConn in 2023 and 2024 as a role player for the Huskies. He averaged 7.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 19.4 minutes per contest as a senior last season (34 games) and played for the Pacers’ Summer League squad in July.

McGlothan was on the Nuggets’ training camp last year but was waived before opening night. He spent the season with the Grand Rapids Gold of the G League, averaging 8.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 42 games. McGlothan went undrafted after playing four collegiate seasons at Grand Canyon and was on Dallas’ Summer League roster this July.

Ashworth and Felton were signed to Exhibit 10 deals on Monday.

Ashworth spent three years at Utah State before spending his final two college seasons at Creighton. As a “super senior” in 2024/25, he averaged 16.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG and a Big East-best 6.8 APG in 35 games (36.0 MPG) for the Blue Jays.

Felton, who played four years of college ball at East Carolina, averaged 18.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.2 SPG on .414/.376/.743 shooting splits in 30 games (34.5 MPG) last season for the Pirates.

Ashworth and Felton also suited up for the Pacers’ Summer League team in July.

Pacers Sign Ashworth, Felton To Exhibit 10 Contracts

The Pacers have signed guards Steven Ashworth and RJ Felton to Exhibit 10 contracts, the team announced today in a press release.

The announcement specifies the moves were designed for Ashworth and Felton to join the Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Noblesville Boom, which implies both players will be released by Indiana before the season begins. Each player would be eligible for a bonus worth up to $85,300 if he spends at least 60 days with Noblesville.

Both players’ agreements with the Pacers were first reported in June, shortly after they went undrafted.

Ashworth spent three years at Utah State before spending his final two college seasons at Creighton. As a “super senior” in 2024/25, he averaged 16.4 PPG, 4.1 RPG and a Big East-best 6.8 APG in 35 games (36.0 MPG) for the Blue Jays.

Felton, who played four years of college ball at East Carolina, averaged 18.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.2 SPG on .414/.376/.743 shooting splits in 30 games (34.5 MPG) last season for the Pirates.

Ashworth and Felton also suited up for the Pacers’ Summer League team in July.

The Pacers currently have a full 21-man roster ahead of training camp.

Central Notes: Toppin, Giddey, Pistons, Bucks

The Pacers will have to defend their Eastern Conference championship without Tyrese Haliburton, who will spend this season rehabbing from Achilles tendon surgery. Big man Obi Toppin still believes the Pacers can be “great” without their star guard.

“Ty brings so much to the team and it’s not hidden, everybody understands what he brings to the game,” Toppin told Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “So it’s just something that everybody on the team has to do while we’re out there, just doing a little extra knowing what we’re missing and knowing what we need out there on the court and just continue playing Pacers basketball. We’ve built the system here and I feel like everybody has bought into the system. That’s why we’ve been so successful. If we continue doing that, we’re gonna still be great.”

Here’s more from the Central Division: