Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Grateful For Latest Opportunity
- 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
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
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
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
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
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.
Pacers’ Toppin Out At Least One Month, Mathurin Week To Week
A pair of key Pacers rotation players will be unavailable for the foreseeable future, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, who said on Tuesday that forward Obi Toppin will be out for at least one month as a result of his right hamstring strain, while guard Bennedict Mathurin is considered “week to week” due to a right great toe sprain, per Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
The Pacers entered their opener last week preparing to be without star point guard Tyrese Haliburton for the entire season as he recovers from an Achilles tear and have since added several new names to their injury report.
Toppin sustained his injury during Sunday’s loss in Minnesota, while Mathurin’s occurred in Saturday’s loss in Memphis when he tripped over Jock Landale‘s foot on his way to the basket. According to Carlisle, both players will undergo more testing when the Pacers return home following the last game of their road trip on Wednesday in Dallas.
“I can’t give you a definitive answer with either guy,” Carlisle said. “But they’re gonna miss some time.”
According to Carlisle, Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) did some “court work” on Tuesday but isn’t ready to play yet, while Taelon Peter (right groin strain) is “doing better” but is “not there yet” either. Johnny Furphy (left foot soreness) will undergo additional testing on his foot when the team returns to Indianapolis, Carlisle added.
T.J. McConnell (left hamstring strain) and Kam Jones (lower back stress reaction) were doing some work near the end of Tuesday’s practice, tweets Dopirak, though the Pacers have previously indicated that both players will be out until at least November 9.
With injuries hitting the team hard at virtually every position except center, the Pacers made a roster move on Tuesday, waiving big man James Wiseman to add guard Mac McClung. As Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets, Indiana should soon qualify for at least one hardship exception as well.
A hardship exception allows a team to temporarily exceed the standard 15-man roster limit if at least four players have missed three consecutive games for health reasons and are expected to remain out for at least two more weeks. Players signed via the hardship exception receive 10-day contracts.
Pacers Waive Wiseman, Sign McClung To Multiyear Deal
October 28: The moves are official, the Pacers confirmed in a press release.
October 27: The Pacers are signing free agent guard Mac McClung to a multiyear contract, agent Greg Lawrence tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
McClung’s multiyear deal will be non-guaranteed, sources tell Charania (Twitter link).
To make room for McClung on their standard roster, which is currently full, the Pacers intend to waive center James Wiseman, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (via Twitter).
As Keith Smith of Spotrac tweets, Wiseman’s contract features a $1MM partial guarantee. Assuming he clears the waiver wire, Indiana will carry that $1MM cap hit on its books for the remainder of 2025/26.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft, Wiseman signed with the Pacers as a free agent in the 2024 offseason after playing for Golden State and Detroit in his first four NBA seasons. The big man impressed Indiana in the preseason last fall and appeared to have the edge for the backup center role behind Myles Turner, but tore his left Achilles tendon in the club’s regular season opener.
Wiseman, 24, re-signed with the Pacers on a two-year deal (the second season is a team option) in July and was said to be in excellent shape entering the ’25/26. Just like last season, he appeared in one game for the Pacers this fall, recording four points and four rebounds in 20 minutes during Saturday’s blowout loss in Memphis.
The Pacers were carrying four centers on their roster and have several guards injured at the moment, so swapping out Wiseman for McClung makes sense from a roster composition perspective.
McClung has become a household name among NBA fans by winning the league’s past three slam dunk contests. However, the 26-year-old has still seen limited game action at the NBA level, appearing in just six total regular season contests for four teams from 2021-25. He was on a two-way contract with the Magic for all of last season, but logged just 10 total minutes in two outings for Orlando.
McClung has starred in the G League in recent years, earning a spot on the All-NBAGL first team in 2024/25 after being named MVP in ’23/24. In a total of 44 appearances for the Osceola Magic last season, he averaged 23.0 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 32.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .481/.344/.828.
The 6’2″ guard was signed and waived by Chicago this fall and likely would have started ’25/26 with the Windy City Bulls had the opportunity with Indiana not come up. Instead, he’ll be signing his first standard NBA contract with the Pacers, as Charania notes.
Central Notes: Nembhard, Cunningham, Jones, Allen
The Pacers have been hit hard by injuries, but there’s at least one ray of hope on the horizon, reports Marc Stein of the Stein Line (subscriber link).
Andrew Nembhard left Thursday night’s game against the Thunder early after aggravating a preexisting shoulder injury. According to Stein, following an MRI, there’s optimism that Nembhard’s absence won’t be a long-term one.
Nembhard is expected to play a key role for the Pacers this season as one of the few healthy ball-handlers remaining on the roster. As Indiana has lost more and more players due to injury, it’s become harder for the team to keep itself organized, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star.
In addition to Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton, TJ McConnell, Taelon Peter, Kam Jones, and Bennedict Mathurin were all on the injury report for Indiana coming into Sunday’s game, and things only got worse after tip-off, as Obi Toppin left the game against the Timberwolves early with a hamstring injury, per Dopirak (Twitter link).
We have more from around the Central Division:
- Cade Cunningham had his coming-out party for the Pistons last season, earning All-NBA honors for the first time and placing seventh in MVP voting. That has led to renewed defensive focus from opposing teams, which Cunningham says he’s still trying to learn how to deal with, writes Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). “I just don’t feel like I’ve handled it the way I want to,” Cunningham said. “I’m gonna keep watching the film and try to be better for my team. I feel like we had a lot of empty offensive possessions because I just didn’t handle the hots correctly.”
- Tre Jones has been labeled a “pure point guard” for much of his career. He’s showing how that can help a team during the start of the Bulls‘ season, writes Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “The game is going positionless a little bit, but trying to keep the point guard spot alive, especially with the height that I have,” Jones said. “I don’t think point guard will ever be out of the game completely. I think there will always be a spot for a point guard and that mentality. It’s something I’ve taken pride in my whole life. How could you not take pride in being called a pure point guard?” Head coach Billy Donovan compared Jones’ ascent in Chicago to Aaron Nesmith‘s jump as a player from his time with the Celtics to his Finals run with the Pacers last season. “One thing I figured out really quickly when I was playing, the most important stat for any NBA player is minutes played per game because these guys are all really, really good, and if they get an opportunity, generally they’re going to show what they can do,” Donovan said.
- Jarrett Allen‘s season debut against the Knicks left a sour taste in Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson‘s mouth, writes Chris Fedor for Cleveland.com (subscriber link). “That wasn’t the Jarrett Allen we all know,” Atkinson said. “That was more on us not seeking him out. But conversely, he can’t get four rebounds. I was really bummed about that. Can’t be like that.” Atkinson made sure to be clear that he wasn’t singling out Allen, saying, “This is a self-criticism too. We take him for granted. I have to be better about talking to him more and talking to our leaders more about him.” The message seemed to sink in: in Cleveland’s second game against the Nets, Allen had 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists; he followed that up with an eight-point, 11-rebound outing in Sunday’s 118-113 win over the Bucks.
Bennedict Mathurin Out With Toe Sprain
Bennedict Mathurin will miss Sunday’s Pacers game in Minnesota with a right great toe sprain, reports Scott Agness of the Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link).
Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star adds (via Twitter) that Mathurin is currently in a walking boot, and, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, will undergo imaging on his foot tomorrow in Dallas.
Now possessing a much larger role due to injuries to Tyrese Haliburton and T.J. McConnell, along with the departure of Myles Turner, Mathurin has averaged 31.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in the Pacers’ first two games, posting .548/.500/.885 shooting splits.
Mathurin joins a growing Indiana injury list that also includes Andrew Nembhard, Johnny Furphy, Kam Jones, and Taelon Peter in addition to Haliburton and McConnell, writes Alessandro Maggi of Sportando.
Maggi notes that Carlisle has yet to give a timetable for Mathurin’s return.