Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Waiving Mac McClung, Signing Monte Morris

November 6th, 2025 at 2:49pm CST by Rory Maher

The Pacers are waiving Mac McClung and signing Monte Morris, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter links).

Morris will sign a one-year deal that’s non-guaranteed, reports Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (via Twitter).

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, the Pacers will carry a $164,060 cap hit for the remainder of the season by waiving McClung, whose two-year contract was non-guaranteed for both 2025/26 and 2026/27.

McClung, a 6’2″ guard, has become a household name among NBA fans by winning the past three slam dunk contests despite rarely playing in the league. He appeared in three games with the Pacers, averaging 6.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 11.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting slash line of .389/.200/.750.

McClung signed with Indiana on October 28 after an impressive showing during a free agent workout. Evidently the team prefers a more experienced player in Morris to man the point with several guards sidelined due to injuries.

The Pacers originally planned to sign Morris to compete for a roster spot in training camp, but the deal fell through when he sustained a calf injury in late September.

Morris, 30, is entering his ninth season in the league. He’s known for his ability to limit mistakes, with a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.9-to-1 — an elite mark.

Morris has been slowed by injuries the past couple years. He played 45 games (12.7 MPG) for Phoenix in 2024/25, averaging 5.2 PPG, 1.6 APG and 1.5 RPG on .426/.360/.826 shooting.

If the transactions are finalized today and Morris receives a minimum-salary deal, which seems likely, he will earn $2,999,979 this season, while the Pacers will carry a cap charge of $2,085,122. Both of those figures will be non-guaranteed until January.

The defending Eastern Conference champions have been absolutely ravaged by injuries this fall and are off to a disappointing 1-7 start. The Pacers lost to Brooklyn on Wednesday, giving the Nets their first win of the season.

Pacers Sign Cody Martin To 10-Day Hardship Deal

November 5th, 2025 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

3:33 pm: The Pacers have officially signed Martin, according to a team press release.

9:17 am: The Pacers intend to add free agent forward Cody Martin to their roster, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). According to Scotto, Martin will be signed using a hardship exception, which means he’ll receive a 10-day contract.

Martin, 30 spent five-and-a-half seasons in Charlotte from 2019-25 before being sent to the Suns at February’s trade deadline along with Vasilije Micic in exchange for Jusuf Nurkic. The 6’6″ forward established himself early in his career as a versatile defender who could contribute in a variety of ways — he averaged 7.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals in 26.3 minutes per game for the Hornets in 2021/22, posting a .482/.384/.701 shooting line in 71 total outings.

However, Martin battled injuries that limited him to just 35 total games over the course of the next two seasons. He bounced back to some extent in 2024/25, making 53 appearances for Charlotte and Phoenix, but his shooting percentages dipped to 41.8% on field goal tries and 28.5% on three-pointers, below his career averages.

Waived by the Suns on June 30, Martin spent over four months on the open market and will now join an Indiana team that has been decimated by injuries in the early going this season. According to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link), the former Hornet and Sun was among the free agents who worked out for the Pacers before they signed Mac McClung last month.

The Pacers already have Jeremiah Robinson-Earl under contract via a hardship exception but would be permitted to retain Robinson-Earl while adding Martin as long as they’ve been granted a second exception.

A hardship exception, which allows a team to temporarily carry an extra player beyond the usual 15-man limit, is granted when a team has four players who have missed three consecutive games due to injuries and are expected to be sidelined for at least two more weeks. If a team has five players who fit that bill, a second hardship exception can be awarded.

Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), Obi Toppin (foot), T.J. McConnell (hamstring), Bennedict Mathurin (foot), Kam Jones (back), and Andrew Nembhard (shoulder) have all been out for at least the Pacers’ past three games. Haliburton will miss the entire season and Toppin is expected to be out until February; the timelines for the others aren’t entirely clear, but if at least three of them are projected to miss two more weeks, the Pacers qualify for a second hardship exception.

Martin will earn $165,197 on a 10-day contract, while Indiana carries a cap hit of $131,970.

Pacers Notes: Turner, Furphy, Jackson, Nesmith, Walker

November 4th, 2025 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

After predicting ahead of his return to Indiana that he’d hear “some cheers” and “some boos,” longtime Pacers center Myles Turner – now a member of the division rival Bucks – admitted following Monday’s game that he wasn’t able to easily shrug off the fact that the boos were far more prevalent.

“It was disheartening, man. It was frustrating,” Turner said of the reaction (Twitter video link via WISH-TV News). “You give 10 years of your life, your blood, your sweat, your tears. You take pay cuts. You survive trade rumors. You try to do everything the right way, and then sometimes stuff shakes out. It is cool. I take it on the chin.”

Turner, who was selected by the Pacers with the 11th overall pick in the 2015 draft, spent the first decade of his professional career in Indiana, making 616 regular season starts – and another 63 in the playoffs – during that time. After he reached free agency this past offseason, he felt he was low-balled by the Pacers and opted to accept a more lucrative offer from Milwaukee.

In his first game back in Indiana on Monday, Pacers fans booed during Turner’s pregame tribute video and continued to boo each time he touched the ball once the game started, notes Jamal Collier of ESPN. Turner and his new team got the last laugh, however, as Giannis Antetokounmpo made a game-winning shot at the buzzer and gave the fans in Indiana a thumbs down as he walked off the court (Twitter video link).

“He had 10 years of service with one franchise,” Antetokounmpo said of Turner after the game, per Akeem Glaspie of The Indianapolis Star. “To be able to come to Indiana as the all-time blocks leader, to be booed, he might not say it but it kind of hurt.

“We’re here to pick him up. Tell him how much we love him and respect him. We understand how much he gave to Indiana and how much he’s going to give to Milwaukee. He’s a great, great person; great character, great competitor. I played against him for 10 years. I think he gave everything he had; blood, sweat, tears, his body, many times on the line for Indiana. … You can boo the Bucks, I understand. But booing Myles Turner, just think about yourself, put yourself in that position.”

Here’s more on the Pacers:

Second-year Pacers guard Johnny Furphy, who missed four games early in the season due to left foot soreness, exited Monday’s game early due to a left ankle sprain, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. While head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after the game that he didn’t have an update on Furphy’s status, the 20-year-old left the locker room on crutches, according to Dopirak.
Furphy wasn’t the only Pacer to leave Monday’s game early due to an injury. Quenton Jackson, who is on a two-way contract, checked out in the third quarter due to right hamstring tightness. While he was initially listed as questionable to return, Jackson remained out for the rest of the night, per Dopirak. The fourth-year point guard had enjoyed a career night in Saturday’s win over Golden State, with 25 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, and three steals.
Discussing the two latest injuries affecting the banged-up Pacers, star forward Pascal Siakam referred to it as “almost laughable” how many health issues the team has had to deal with so far this season, according to Dopirak (subscription required). “As bad as it’s getting I know there’s going to be another side of it and we’re going to come out of it,” Siakam said. “I’m just wired that way in a positive manner. I’m just going to continue to work and scratch and claw and we’re gonna find a way.”
Aaron Nesmith, who is averaging more than five field goal attempts more than his previous career high, and Jarace Walker, whose shot attempts are up from 4.8 per game last year to 12.6 this season, are among the players who have been asked to take on more offensive responsibilities due to Indiana’s injury absences. “They’ve had to figure things out on the fly,” head coach Rick Carlisle said, per Dopirak. “We have a lot of moving parts here. … We have a lot of guys who are playing unusual positions, and so there’s adjustments that are happening there. Everybody’s spirit is good about it and we just have to keep working at it. Both Aaron and Jarace are doing a good job and they’re both growing through this.”

Myles Turner Discusses Free Agency Decision, Return To Indiana

November 3rd, 2025 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Five months after helping the Pacers reach the NBA Finals, Myles Turner may be treated as a villain as he returns to Indiana on Monday. Tyrese Haliburton‘s ruptured Achilles in Game 7 of that series and Turner’s offseason decision to sign with the Bucks have quickly unraveled a potential championship team, and Turner isn’t sure how the fans will react when he’s introduced, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN.

“I don’t know what to expect,” he said. “There’s going to be some cheers. There’s going to be some boos. It kind of just is what it is. For me personally, the biggest thing is obviously winning the basketball game, that’s paramount. But there’s going to be some mixed emotions. Still got some great people in the organization that I rock with. Obviously old teammates, it’s going to be a blend of emotions, for sure.”

Turner approached free agency fully expecting to re-sign with the Pacers, Collier adds. He had been the subject of trade rumors in the past, but those had always blown over and he anticipated continuing his 10-year relationship with Indiana.

However, sources tell Collier that negotiations between Turner’s agent and the team hit a snag because the Pacers wouldn’t increase their offer past $22MM annually for three years, as has been previously reported.

Meanwhile the Bucks were plotting a bold strategy to add Turner to their roster and hopefully quell trade speculation regarding Giannis Antetokounmpo. They provided the most shocking move of free agency when they waived Damian Lillard and stretched the $113MM left on his contract. That opened enough cap room to offer Turner a four-year, $107MM deal with a player option on the final season.

He considered it an easy choice, stating, “(Indiana) made it very clear how they valued me. And so did the Milwaukee Bucks.”

“I’ve always been told when I was in trade rumors, this is a business, this is a business, this is a business,” Turner added. “And that’s kind of what this decision was for me. It was a business decision. It’s unfortunate that it came at the time that it did, but it’s a $40MM difference at the end of the day.”

Pacers president Kevin Pritchard was shocked by Turner’s decision, Collier adds. Pritchard believed the negotiating process was still continuing and wasn’t aware of the deal with Milwaukee until he saw it on social media. He thought the team was nearing an acceptable offer, but Turner viewed it differently.

“There were a lot of factors that went into the decision,” Turner said, “but Indiana made it very easy for me.”

So far, Turner’s decision has worked out well for him and the Bucks and poorly for his former team. He’s off to a rough shooting start — averaging just 9.8 points through six games while connecting at 39.3% from the field and 34.4% from three-point range — but Milwaukee is 4-2 and looks like one of the best teams in the East. The Pacers didn’t pick up their first win until Saturday and have been suffering from a lack of star power.

Turner’s new teammates are raving about the veteran leadership he’s providing for a squad that lost Lillard, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton over the past year, and he’s enjoying the chance to play alongside a superstar in Antetokounmpo.

“He’s about to change my life, man,” Turner said. “I spent 10 years of my life doing the exact same thing. It’s obviously an adjustment, but it’s hoops at the end of the day.”

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Grateful For Latest Opportunity

November 1st, 2025 at 8:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was headed for the G League before Obi Toppin‘s injury gave him a path to join the Pacers, according to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Robinson-Earl said he’s “grateful for the opportunity” after signing a 10-day hardship contract earlier today. “He’s proven and shown to be an adaptable guy,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “Over the last day and a half since he’s been here, he’s picked things up very quickly. He’s a very fundamentally sound player. He shoots it, he passes it, he makes the right play. Knows who he is as a player and plays to his strengths.”

Pacers Add Jeremiah Robinson-Earl On 10-Day Hardship Contract

November 1st, 2025 at 2:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

2:00 pm: Robinson-Earl’s 10-day hardship contract with the Pacers is now official, per a team press release.

11:11 am: The Pacers are planning to sign forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a 10-day contract via the hardship exception, ESPN’s Shams Charania tweets.

Indiana’s star player, Tyrese Haliburton, is out for the season after suffering a right Achilles tendon rupture during the Finals. The Pacers are also currently without guards T.J. McConnell (hamstring), Kam Jones (back), Bennedict Mathurin (toe), Andrew Nembhard (shoulder) and Johnny Furphy (foot). Additionally, forward Obi Toppin just underwent a procedure on his foot that will keep him out of action for at least three months.

A team qualifies for a hardship exception when it meets all of the following criteria:

It has at least four players unavailable due to injury or illness.
All four of those players have missed at least three consecutive games.
All four of those players are expected to remain sidelined for at least two more weeks.

Robinson-Earl played 66 games with the Pelicans last season, including nine starts. He averaged 6.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. He was waived by Dallas prior to the season opener after signing an Exhibit 9 contract with the team during the offseason.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd praised Robinson-Earl during training camp and expressed hope that he could find another NBA opportunity.

“When you talk about him being a pro — he should be on an NBA roster,” Kidd said. “When you look at what he does, he’s consistent. He comes to work every day and does his job. He can shoot it, he can pass it, he can defend. It’s really sad that he’s not on an NBA roster for whatever reason.”

His G League rights are held by the Texas Legends.

Obi Toppin Undergoing Foot Surgery, Out At Least 3 Months

October 31st, 2025 at 4:34pm CST by Rory Maher

Pacers forward Obi Toppin will undergo surgery to place a screw in the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot, head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters on Friday (Twitter links via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star and Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN).

According to Dopirak, Carlisle said not to ask about Toppin’s injury again until February 1, which suggests the high-flying ex-Dayton star will be sidelined for at least three months.

The Pacers announced (via Twitter) that Tobbin has been diagnosed with a partial stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal.

In perhaps the most optimistic way of viewing the news, Topping being sidelined for so long will theoretically give him more time to recover from a right hamstring strain, which was already expected to keep him out for at least a month. The fact that both injuries are on the same leg is clearly not ideal, however.

Toppin, the eighth overall pick of the 2020 draft, sustained the hamstring surgery in Sunday’s loss to Minnesota. That’s also when the foot fracture occurred, according to the team.

After an up-and-down first three seasons in New York, Toppin was traded to Indiana in July 2023 for a pair of second-round picks. He has become a rotation regular for the Pacers, and had been quite durable before these untimely injuries, only missing three combined games since the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

The Pacers have been hit hard by injuries this fall, with T.J. McConnell (hamstring strain), Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction), Bennedict Mathurin (right great toe sprain) and Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) all missing time. And that doesn’t include Tyrese Haliburton, who will miss the entire season with a torn Achilles tendon.

Third-year forward Jarace Walker is most clear-cut candidate for more playing time with Toppin expected to miss a good chunk of the season. It’s a big opportunity for Walker, who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension in the offseason.

Central Notes: Rollins, Green, Turner, Jones, LaVine, Buzelis

October 31st, 2025 at 8:06am CST by Luke Adams

After waiving Chris Livingston and Tyler Smith prior to the start of the 2025/26 season, the Bucks have now gone 11 consecutive draft classes without signing one of their picks to a second contract, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. As Windhorst acknowledges, Milwaukee has traded away several picks during that time – either before or after using them – but the last player the team drafted and signed to a second contract was Giannis Antetokounmpo, 2013’s 15th overall pick.

While the Bucks haven’t had any real draft success stories in the past decade, they’ve done well with certain undrafted free agents and reclamation projects, Windhorst’s colleague Tim Bontemps points out within the same story. Two of the latest examples are Ryan Rollins and A.J. Green, the current backcourt starters, who have helped the team get out to a 4-1 start this season.

As we detailed last night, Rollins had the best game of his NBA career in a win over Golden State on Thursday, racking up 32 points and eight assists in 36 minutes of action. Green contributed just 10 points in Thursday’s victory, but he made at least three three-point shots for a fifth consecutive game to open the season and is knocking them down at a 55.2% rate.

Rollins signed a three-year, $12MM contract over the summer that includes a third-year player option, while Green finalized a four-year, $45MM extension just before the season tipped off. Those could become two of the most team-friendly deals in the NBA if the Bucks’ guards keep playing like this, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Bucks center Myles Turner said during an appearance on teammate Thanasis Antetokounmpo‘s podcast that he felt like Tyrese Haliburton‘s Achilles injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals changed how his free agency played out, making Indiana less willing to do what it took to re-sign him. “All everybody told me was, ‘Myles, just keep your head down. Keep your head down and work. You’re going to get taken care of,'” Turner explained (hat tip to RealGM). “Then the unfortunate situation happens in the Finals with Tyrese, and I guess the front office and ownership just changed their mind. It was like, ‘Yeah… we told you all those things. And yeah… you helped us get to the Eastern Conference Finals and the Finals… but… we had to pivot.’ That was basically the sentiment. And we were just very far apart on what we thought the future should be.”
A prosecutor in Indiana opted not to file formal charges against Kam Jones after the Pacers rookie was arrested by Indiana State Police for driving erratically, according to Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files, who says the incident will serve as a “learning moment” for the first-year guard.
After playing at the United Center on Wednesday for the first time since being traded from the Bulls to the Kings in February, Zach LaVine said it “felt like I came home” and spoke about his love for Chicago, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. LaVine got a standing ovation from Bulls fans when the team played a tribute video during the first quarter. “I know I did a lot of good in Chicago,” LaVine said. “I just wish I could have won more here.”
While LaVine’s return to Chicago was one of the major subplots of Wednesday’s game, the ongoing development of second-year forward Matas Buzelis was the most important one for the Bulls‘ future. As Jon Greenberg of The Athletic details, Buzelis led Chicago to its fourth straight win by scoring a season-high 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting — the Bulls, who won the game by 13 points, were +18 when he was on the court. “He can do it all,” LaVine said of his former teammate after the game.

Central Notes: McClung, White, LaVine, Green, Rollins

October 29th, 2025 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on 107.5 The Fan in Indianapolis on Tuesday (Twitter video link), Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said that Mac McClung was the most impressive participant in a three-player free agent workout the team hosted on Monday, earning him a non-guaranteed deal. According to Carlisle, the Pacers believe the three-time dunk contest champion is a more well-rounded player than his limited NBA résumé suggests.

“He can score, he’s a hard-playing guy,” Carlisle said. “For all the things we did in the workout, he didn’t dunk the ball once. … We need a guy that has energy, can go hard, is healthy – I think ‘is healthy’ is probably the number one thing – and that can play a couple of positions. He can play point, he can play off the ball.”

McClung’s contract with Indiana is a two-year, minimum-salary deal that includes a team option for 2026/27, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). He has a cap hit of $2,283,168 for the current season, but would only be assured of earning that full amount if he remains under contract through January 7.

Here’s more from around the Central:

Although Bulls guard Coby White is scheduled to be reevaluated next week, there’s no guarantee he’ll be cleared to return at that time from what head coach Billy Donovan refers to as a “tricky” calf strain, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “Just talking to the medical, here’s the problem: Like (White) doesn’t have any pain at all with what he’s doing,” Donovan explained on Monday. “He’s on the court shooting, he’s able to jog, but what ended up happening and what became a problem when we were playing competitively in practice were those stops, starts, quick explosiveness that maybe he’s not doing a lot of that in individual workout.”
Wednesday’s game between the Bulls and Kings will mark the first time Zach LaVine returns to Chicago as an opponent since being traded to Sacramento in February. Bulls center Nikola Vucevic wants to see his former teammate get a warm reception from fans at the United Center. “I hope Bulls fans give him the welcome he deserves,” Vucevic said, per Paul Sullivan of The Chicago Tribune. “He gave a lot to the Bulls organization throughout the years. I know people criticized him at times, but it wasn’t always fair. He’s a great guy, always competed, played hard, tried his best and cared and wanted to do what’s right for the organization. He didn’t win, but I don’t think he always had the pieces (around him). And when we did, it didn’t work out for all of us.”
Newly signed to multiyear contracts, A.J. Green and Ryan Rollins have played important roles in the Bucks‘ 3-1 start this season, according to Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Green has knocked down 3.3 three-pointers per game at a 59.1% clip, while Rollins has stepped in as the starting point guard following Kevin Porter Jr.‘s ankle injury and is averaging 15.3 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.0 steals per contest. Green signed a four-year, $45MM extension earlier this month; Rollins received a three-year, $12MM contract as a free agent in July.

And-Ones: Payne, Fernando, Free Agents, Breakout Candidates

October 28th, 2025 at 2:29pm CST by Luke Adams

After being waived by the Pacers earlier this month, veteran point guard Cameron Payne reportedly received strong interest from KK Partizan, a EuroLeague-team based in Belgrade, Serbia. However, according to veteran NBA insider Marc Stein (Twitter link), Payne has opted to forgo overseas opportunities for now and will remain stateside in order to seek out his next NBA opportunity.

A 10-year NBA veteran who has earned regular playing time in Phoenix, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and New York in recent years, Payne appeared in 72 games for the Knicks last season, averaging 6.9 points and 2.8 assists in 15.1 minutes per night while shooting 40.1% from the floor, including 36.3% from beyond the three-point line.

Payne received a training camp invitation from Indiana this fall but didn’t make a strong case in the preseason for a regular season roster spot, shooting just 28.6% from the field and registering nearly as many turnovers (six) as assists (seven).

We have more from around the basketball world:

While Payne apparently won’t be headed to Belgrade, another NBA veteran is set to join KK Partizan. As Javier Molero of Eurohoops relays, big man Bruno Fernando is signing with the Serbian club to fortify its frontcourt. Fernando, whose last stop was Real Madrid, made 220 regular season appearances in the NBA for four teams from 2019-25. He played in 17 games last season for the Raptors, but has been out of the league since being waived by Toronto in January.
Even though the 2025/26 season is now underway, there are still several notable players who finished last season on NBA rosters and remain unsigned. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report ranks the top 10 players who fit that bill, with Malik Beasley, Ben Simmons, and Precious Achiuwa topping his list.
Jeremy Woo of ESPN identifies his top five breakout candidates for the 2025/26 season, including Celtics wing Payton Pritchard, Pistons center Jalen Duren, and Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard.