Indiana Pacers Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Pacers Sign Garrison Mathews To 10-Day Contract

November 20th, 2025 at 5:30pm CST by Luke Adams

5:30 pm: Mathews’ 10-day hardship deal is now official, the Pacers announced in a press release.

11:21 am: The Pacers are planning to sign free agent wing Garrison Mathews to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Known primarily as an outside shooter, Mathews has appeared in 314 total NBA regular season games since debuting in 2019, averaging 6.5 points in 17.5 minutes per game and making 38.2% of his career attempts from beyond the arc for Washington, Houston, and Atlanta.

After spending the past two-and-a-half seasons with the Hawks, Mathews signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract this offseason with the Knicks in the hopes of earning a spot on their regular season roster. However, the 29-year-old was beaten out by fellow swingman Landry Shamet, resulting in New York waiving him at the end of the preseason last month. Mathews has been a free agent since then.

As we outlined in a separate story earlier today, the Pacers are currently carrying Jeremiah Robinson-Earl using a hardship exception, but his second 10-day contract is about to expire, so the team is signing him to a new two-year deal in order to retain him. Monte Morris will be waived to create room on the 15-man roster for Robinson-Earl.

A player isn’t permitted to sign a third 10-day contract with the same team, which is why Robinson-Earl is being moved to the standard roster, but the Pacers remain eligible for a hardship exception, which is granted when at least four players have missed three or more consecutive games and are projected to be out for at least two more weeks. Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), Obi Toppin (foot), Aaron Nesmith (knee), and Kam Jones (back) all appear to fit that bill for Indiana.

Mathews will earn $165,197 over the course of his 10 days with the Pacers, while the team takes on a cap hit of $131,970.

Pacers Plan To Retain Robinson-Earl, Waive Morris

November 20th, 2025 at 10:11am CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers intend to re-sign forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a non-guaranteed contract as his second 10-day deal concludes, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will waive point guard Monte Morris in order to create room on its 15-man roster.

The Pacers were able to sign Robinson-Earl to a pair of 10-day deals because they qualified for a hardship exception, which allows a team to temporarily exceed the usual 15-man limit. The NBA awards a hardship exception to a club if it has at least four injured players who have missed three consecutive games and are projected to miss at least two more weeks.

Indiana may still have four players who meet that criteria, with Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), Obi Toppin (foot), Aaron Nesmith (knee), and Kam Jones (back) all sidelined. However, a team can’t sign the same player to a third hardship contract, so the Pacers have to move Robinson-Earl to the standard roster in order to retain him beyond his current 10-day deal, which will expire on Thursday night.

Robinson-Earl, 25, has appeared in 10 games and made three starts since joining the Pacers, averaging 5.2 points and 6.2 rebounds in 20.3 minutes per contest. The fifth-year veteran is shooting just 36.4% from the floor and Indiana is being outscored by 15.7 points per 100 possessions during his time on the court, but the club likes what it has seen from the former Pelican enough to keep him around for at least a little while longer.

According to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (Twitter link), Robinson-Earl will sign a two-year, minimum-salary deal. His salary for this season would become fully guaranteed if he remains under contract beyond January 7, and he’ll have a non-guaranteed team option for 2026/27.

If Indiana still qualifies for a hardship exception, the team could sign a new player to a 10-day contract once Robinson-Earl has officially been moved to the standard roster. While Morris theoretically could be that player, he would have to clear waivers first and didn’t make much of an impact in his first six games with the Pacers, averaging 3.0 points and 1.5 assists in 10.8 minutes per night, with a .350/.250/.500 shooting line.

Eastern Notes: Mathurin, Embiid, George, Ivey, Risacher

November 18th, 2025 at 10:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pacers’ losing streak stretched to eight games on Monday but there was a silver lining in their loss to the red-hot Pistons, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star points out. Bennedict Mathurin, who had missed 11 games due to a toe sprain, scored 23 of his 25 points in the second half.

Mathurin asserts that the team has the ability to turn things around.

“We’re 1-13 right now,” Mathurin said. “There’s teams in the NBA that have won 10 games in a row. Why can’t we be the team that wins 10 games in a row? It’s just about believing. It’s just about doing what’s right for our team. … People act like it’s the end of the world. If we were 1-57 I’d say maybe, but it’s 1-13. We’ve played 14 games. It’s not even 15% percent of the season, so I’m still positive, man.”

Center Isaiah Jackson feels the same way.

“I think energy is everything,” he said. “One guy gets going and it can give us a spark. I think that’s all you need. We’re just gonna continue to keep going.”

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

Joel Embiid is listed as doubtful due to right knee injury management for the Sixers’ game against Toronto on Wednesday, Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice tweets. Paul George won’t play due to what the team describes as left knee injury recovery. Embiid hasn’t played since Nov. 8, while George made his season debut on Monday and played 21 minutes, in which he contributed nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks in a win over the Clippers. Wednesday’s game is the first of a back-to-back set, so George seems likely to suit up on Thursday.
The Pistons assigned guard Jaden Ivey to their G League affiliate, the Motor City Cruise, for conditioning purposes, their PR department tweets. A restricted free agent after this season, Ivey hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since New Year’s Day, when he suffered a fractured left fibula. He recovered from that injury over the offseason, but underwent right knee surgery during the preseason last month.
Hawks second-year forward Zaccharie Risacher missed his team’s game against the Pistons on Tuesday due to a left hip contusion but he should return soon, according to Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He suffered a nasty fall during a dunk attempt against the Suns on Sunday. Risacher’s legs swung up and he somersaulted and crashed to the floor, landing on his left side.

Central Notes: White, Davis, Siakam, Martin, Cunningham, Duren

November 17th, 2025 at 1:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bulls guard Coby White made his long-awaited season debut and he didn’t disappoint. White, who was sidelined by a calf strain, scored 27 points and delivered eight assists in a double overtime loss to Utah on Sunday.

“The coaching staff talked to me about coming back and being aggressive, being who I was,” White said, per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. “Not kind of tiptoeing. I focused on that.”

White will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

We have more from the Central Division:

Mavericks big man Anthony Davis was born in Chicago. Would the Bulls consider trading for the highly productive but oft-injured Davis? Cowley doubts that, noting that executive VP of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said at the start of training camp, “We have to be patient, we have to do it the right way and we can’t skip steps.” Davis has two guaranteed seasons remaining on his three-year, $175.3MM deal, which includes a player option for 2027/28.
The Pacers have been decimated by injuries, but forward Pascal Siakam says that’s not a strong enough excuse for a 1-12 start. “We are playing in the NBA, the best league in the world,” he told The Indianapolis Star’s Dustin Dopirak. “There shouldn’t be a reason why you’re out there every single night and not giving your best or trying to be the best that you can be and giving it your all. There’s thousands and millions of people who would give everything they have to be in the situation that we’re in. There’s no excuse. Obviously, it’s been tough on us. We have injuries every single day. Guys are in situations that they’re not supposed to be in. But we can’t find it as an excuse and just go out there every single night and be like, ‘Whatever happens happens.’ It has to matter. We have to fight.”
Cody Martin‘s 10-day contract under the hardship exception expired on Saturday and the Pacers couldn’t sign him to another, according to Dopirak, since they currently don’t qualify under the hardship rules. Martin appeared in four games during his brief stay with Indiana.
The Pistons could have three starters back on Monday against Indiana, including star guard Cade Cunningham. Cunningham has missed the last two games due to a left hip contusion, while Ausar Thompson (right ankle sprain) has missed the last three — both players are listed as questionable. Jalen Duren, who has also missed the last two games due to a right ankle sprain, is listed as probable, according to The Detroit Free Press’ Omari Sankofa II.

Injury Notes: Wemby, Harper, Herro, Bam, Mathurin, Allen

November 16th, 2025 at 3:54pm CST by Rory Maher

Spurs star Victor Wembanyama missed his first game of the season on Sunday against Sacramento, per Michael C. Wright of ESPN. Head coach Mitch Johnson indicated the French center was held out for precautionary reasons after experiencing left calf soreness.

“It’s just something that he felt,” Johnson said. “I don’t think there was a specific play. Obviously, we’ve seen around this league recently, the calf-tightness thing is not something you want to take lightly. So, [we’ve] just got to get some more information. Don’t want to push it there.”

Johnson also provided an injury update on No. 2 overall pick Dylan Harper, Wright adds. The 19-year-old guard is making progress from a left calf strain and is no longer wearing a walking boot.

“It’s getting better,” Johnson said. “He’s out of the boot. You’ve just got to build that thing up. For every day that you were in the boot or off the court, you’ve probably got to hit it on the other side. It’ll be good to have him back on the court ramping up pretty soon.”

Here are some more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

Heat guard Tyler Herro, who made his first All-Star appearance in 2024/25, practiced on Sunday for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in September, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. While the 25-year-old was happy to return to the court, his season debut isn’t necessarily imminent. “It felt great, just being out there with my teammates, being on the court with them first time all season,” Herro said with a smile. “So it felt great to be in the drills. My foot is getting better. I’ve been rehabbing around the clock every day since my surgery, trying to get back as soon as I can and I’m looking at about a week or two hopefully, if there are no setbacks. So we’ll see what happens.”
Three-time All-Star Bam Adebayo also returned to practice on Sunday, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald, but the Heat big man will miss his sixth straight game on Monday due to a left big toe sprain. “A lot less pain that I had,” Adebayo said of his toe injury. “A lot less. So I’m working toward getting out there.” Head coach Erik Spoelstra said neither player has an official timeline for return. “It was great to have (Herro) and Bam on that third unit today,” Spoelstra said, per Winderman. “That third unit looked like they had a boost of energy and confidence with those two in it. So we’ll just keep on building. Don’t have a timeline on them, but obviously that’s a big step today.”
Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin, who has missed the past 11 games with a right great toe sprain, has been upgraded to questionable ahead of Monday’s matchup in Detroit, the team announced (via Twitter). Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files hears the Montreal native is on track to return tomorrow (Twitter link). Mathurin, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, was off to a strong start to the season prior to the injury, averaging 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in two games.
Suns guard Grayson Allen suffered a right quad contusion in the first half of Thursday’s win over Indiana and didn’t return for the second. He will missed Sunday’s contest against Atlanta and is considered day-to-day going forward, as Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic relays. “We’ll continue to see how he gets out of this,” head coach Jordan Ott said after Saturday’s practice. “Stick to day-to-day. We just walked through a lot today. Nothing up and down, nothing live. Good to have these two days in between. We need it. It doesn’t seem too bad.”

Aaron Nesmith Projected To Miss Four Weeks With Sprained Knee

November 15th, 2025 at 7:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

After saying the Pacers appeared to have “dodged a bullet” when Aaron Nesmith was injured on Thursday, coach Rick Carlisle told reporters tonight that his small forward is expected to miss four weeks, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.

Nesmith has been diagnosed with a sprained left knee, and he and the team are grateful that there was no ligament damage, Carlisle added.

“It’s likely going to be at least four weeks, so talk to me on the 15th (of December),” Carlisle said in his pregame press conference. “But it’s very good news. Very, very good news. He’s not in a brace. He’s walking. I say it’s likely going to be four weeks, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be less. It’s unclear at this time, but he’s doing very well and the news was very, very good.”

As Dopirak details, Nesmith injured the knee when his right foot came down on teammate Jeremiah Robinson-Earl‘s left foot. Nesmith’s right leg slid after the collision, causing his left knee to buckle. He rolled off the floor and had to be helped to the locker room.

Nesmith played a crucial role in Indiana’s run to the NBA Finals last season and has been asked to carry more of the scoring load as the Pacers have been decimated by injuries during a 1-11 start. He’s averaging a career-high 15.5 PPG through 11 games, but his shooting numbers have declined sharply to 36.7% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range.

Carlisle offered some encouraging injury news on Saturday as Bennedict Mathurin is nearing a return from a right great toe sprain. Mathurin scored 36 and 26 points in the first two games of the season before being sidelined.

“He’s getting close,” Carlisle said. “We did a simulated game kind of workout this morning. He went through things in prep today. He’s moving in a good direction.”

Central Notes: Nesmith, Pistons, Mitchell, Bucks

November 15th, 2025 at 11:52am CST by Dana Gauruder

The injury-riddled Pacers suffered another one on Thursday as forward Aaron Nesmith suffered a left knee sprain. He won’t play in Saturday’s home game against the Raptors but head coach Rick Carlisle believes the team may have “dodged a bullet” regarding his injury, The Indianapolis Star’s Dustin Dopirak reports.

The Pacers think Nesmith avoided a “very serious” injury, according to Carlisle. Nesmith is averaging a career-high 15.5 points per game.

We have more from the Central Division:

The injury-depleted Pistons made it nine in a row with a win over Philadelphia on Friday. They rallied from a 12-point, third-quarter deficit despite Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris watching in street clothes from the bench. “They’ve just got a nastiness to them, and that’s the fun part about our group,” Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, per Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. “They like it when it gets thick. They like it when it gets messy and it gets ugly. That’s where they thrive. We like to take people there; we like to push people’s buttons and see how they respond. We’ve just got a bunch of nasty dogs in that locker room, and they love it.”
The Cavaliers didn’t reach the Finals last season despite being a top seed. That’s why Donovan Mitchell isn’t concerned about regaining the No. 1 seed this season. “Playing well at the right time (is what’s important),” Mitchell told D.J. Siddiqi of VideoGamer.com. “Would we love to do both? 1,000%. I’m not going to sit here and say we wouldn’t want to be the No. 1 seed. At the same token, we saw last year that you can do all the things, but if you’re not ready when that time goes and if you’re not necessarily healthy, it doesn’t really matter what you’ve done during the regular season. Would I love to be the No. 1 seed? Sure. But if we’re not, am I going to be panicking? No. As long as we’re playing our best basketball at the right time, that’s all that really matters.”
The Bucks are off to an 8-5 start and The Athletic’s Eric Nehm shares his thoughts on what he’s seen from the team this season.

Central Notes: Nesmith, Walker, Terry, Pistons

November 14th, 2025 at 7:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Aaron Nesmith had to crawl off the court in Thursday’s loss at Phoenix, but the Pacers are hopeful that his injury won’t keep him out for long, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star. Nesmith was getting into a defensive stance in the third quarter when his left foot bent the wrong way (Twitter video link). He was helped to the locker room, and the team announced that he wouldn’t return due to knee soreness.

Nesmith was limping and appeared to have an ice bag on the knee as he left the arena, but he wasn’t using crutches, Dopirak observes. Coach Rick Carlisle was optimistic that it isn’t something severe like a ligament tear.

“Hoping that Aaron’s situation is not very serious,” he said. “At this point, it looks like we may have dodged a bullet in terms of something that is very serious. But he will miss some time.”

Losing Nesmith would add to a catastrophic run of injuries for the defending Eastern Conference champions that began with Tyrese Haliburton‘s Achilles tear in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Seven players were sidelined heading into Thursday’s game, which Indiana lost by 35 points to fall to 1-11.

Nesmith would be a major loss if he has to miss any significant time. Dopirak points out that he’s handling an increased offensive load for the short-handed team in addition to being its most versatile defender.

“It hurts,” Carlisle said. “He’s a top player on this team. It hurt us out there tonight and it’s going to affect us.”

There’s more from the Central Division:

Another rough shooting night for Jarace Walker brought his field goal percentage down to 29.7% for the season, Dopirak tweets. The third-year power forward missed all 10 of his shots in Phoenix after going 1-of-8 in the previous game at Utah. He was removed from the Pacers‘ starting lineup on Tuesday after starting seven straight games.
Bulls guard Dalen Terry isn’t getting the playing time he had hoped for, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Terry, who will be a restricted free agent after not receiving a rookie scale extension, has appeared in seven of the team’s 11 games, but is averaging just 5.9 minutes per night. “I feel like it’s been a situation I’ve been in my whole life, to be honest with you,” he said. “With this being a contract year and things not starting like you want them to, guys can go into a dark place. But I just look at it like, ‘Man, it’s just basketball, and we’re winning right now.’ So my feelings aren’t really the priority.”
The 10-2 Pistons are off to the best start in the East, but they have a lengthy injury report for Friday’s NBA Cup game against Philadelphia, notes Hunter Patterson of the Athletic (Twitter links). Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart are all listed as questionable, while Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris are out.

Pacers Reportedly Eyeing Jose Alvarado

November 13th, 2025 at 9:38pm CST by Rory Maher

With Tyrese Haliburton out for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon, the Pacers have been on the lookout for help at point guard, having cycled through multiple veterans during the preseason and later cutting James Wiseman to add Mac McClung. McClung was subsequently replaced by Monte Morris, whom the team initially intended to bring in for camp before discovering he had a calf injury that has since healed.

Head coach Rick Carlisle said McClung was the most impressive participant in a three-player free agent workout on October 27, which is why the Pacers signed him. According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), the other two participants in that session were Morris and Cody Martin, whose 10-day hardship contract with Indiana expires on Friday.

Martin, who missed Thursday’s game in Phoenix due to an illness (Twitter link via the team), is unlikely to return to the Pacers unless they’re granted another hardship exception, Fischer writes.

In addition to keeping close tabs on free agents, Indiana has also been monitoring the trade market for backcourt help. Sources tell Fischer that Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado is of particular interest to the Pacers.

Alvarado, 27, went undrafted in 2021 after a standout college career at Georgia Tech. The 27-year-old is making $4.5MM this season and holds a player option for 2026/27 worth the same amount.

Through 10 games this season, Alvarado is averaging 6.7 points, 2.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 steal in 18.9 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .423/.429/.800.

Central Notes: Giannis, Pacers, Ball, Porter, Essengue

November 13th, 2025 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out Wednesday’s game vs. Charlotte due to what the team referred to as patellar tendinopathy affecting his left knee. However, speaking to reporters prior to the game, head coach Doc Rivers suggested that Antetokounmpo’s absence was more about managing his workload during a tough part of the schedule rather than an injury the team is seriously concerned about.

“What are we, five games in seven days?” Rivers said (Twitter links via Eric Nehm of The Athletic). “It’s just a lot. And we looked at this before it all started, this was the game, if we were going to sit him, just because it was right in the middle and it gives him four days off.

“This one was a little rough because we weren’t sure. I know I wanted him to (sit). I asked him before (shootaround), trying to talk him into not playing, which is rare for me to do. But it just felt like health-wise, this is the right decision.”

Antetokounmpo is off to an excellent start this fall, averaging 33.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 32.9 minutes per game through his first 10 outings. Wednesday’s contest was the second he has missed this season, and while Milwaukee picked up a victory without its star forward vs. Golden State on October 30, the team dropped last night’s game in Charlotte, falling to 7-5 on the season.

We have more from around the Central:

The Pacers had some players back from injuries on Tuesday, including point guard T.J. McConnell making his season debut. However, the club gave up a season-high 152 points in a blowout loss to Utah, prompting McConnell to refer to the defensive effort as “pitiful,” per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required). “We just have to be better in terms of fight, in terms of pride,” McConnell said. “That’s really not gonna get it done.” The defending Eastern Conference champions are now 1-10 to open the season.
With Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell among the Cavaliers‘ regulars inactive on Wednesday in Miami, Lonzo Ball earned his second start of the season and reserve guard Craig Porter Jr. played a season-high 32 minutes. Fred Katz of The Athletic looks at how Ball is fitting in with the Cavs so far this season, while Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required) covers Porter’s “heroic” night — the third-year guard had 19 points and nine assists, with a game-high +21 on/off court mark, in the victory over the Heat.
Bulls rookie forward Noa Essengue had a big G League debut on Tuesday, scoring 28 points in 29 minutes for the Windy City Bulls, according to Julie Poe of The Chicago Tribune, who shares five takeaways from Essengue’s performance. However, Essengue remains an odd man out in Chicago’s frontcourt rotation, so this won’t change the team’s development plan for him, says Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. “I think sometimes you can get preoccupied with the scoring aspect of it,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “I know he had a big night offensively, but if he’s getting out in transition, getting to the backboard, slashing, cuts, that’s great. I think we all know the shooting part of it needs to continue to develop, his body needs to continue to develop, but can he get things into the game we’re going to need him to?”