Pacers Make Nance Jr. and Brown Signings Official; Waive Potter

The Indiana Pacers have finalized three reported transactions on the afternoon of July 9, 2026.

After signing Kelly Oubre Jr. to a two-year contract for $16.5M, the Pacers also added eleven-year veteran, Larry Nance Jr., to a one year, veteran's minimum contract. Nance Jr. will make roughly $3.9M for next season, but the Pacers will only be responsible to pay for $2.45M of it, due to the veteran minimum exception rule.

However, in order for the Pacers to legally add Nance Jr. to their roster, they had to waive the non-guaranteed contract of Micah Potter. The five-year veteran joined the team last season at the end of December and was set to make $2.8M next season. This move roughly saves the Pacers $400k against the salary cap.

Here is the official statement from the team on the Nance Jr. adding and the waiving of Potter:

LNJ — Larry Nance Jr. Graphic | Pacers.com

"The Indiana Pacers announced Thursday the team signed forward/center Larry Nance Jr. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. Nance Jr. will wear number 22 for the Pacers. In a related move, the Pacers waived Micah Potter."

Nance Jr. will continue to wear No. 22, which he has worn for the majority of his career. Isaiah Jackson was the last Pacers' player to wear No. 22, before he was included in a trade to the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown.

Kobe Brown Officially Back with the Pacers on a Two-Way Contract

In an additional move on Thursday afternoon, the Pacers announced that they were signing unrestricted free agent, Kobe Brown, to a two-way contract. Tony East of Forbes and Circle City Spin, was the first to announce the agreement.

Brown was acquired by the blue and gold in a midseason blockbuster trade, that also landed Indiana its' future starting center, Ivica Zubac. This is the last season of eligibility for Brown to be on a two-way deal, he will make half of what the zero experience veteran minimum is, which is roughly $675K. Two-way contracts do not count against the Pacers salary cap.

During his short time with Indiana, the team was impressed with the work that Brown put in, seeing a drastic improvement in his outside shooting. Rick Carlisle made mention of how skilled of a rebounder he is, and mentioned that he has good size for a wing.

3 Two-Way Spots, 5 Players Battling for Them

First reported by Dustin Dopirak of the Indy Star, Indiana is expected to sign the 38th overall pick in the 2026 draft and the all-time NCAA assists leader, Braden Smith, to a two-way contract. The Pacers additionally offered Jalen Slawson a qualifying offer, to make him a restricted free agent, and are looking to sign him to a two-way deal also.

With the expected addition of Smith on a two-way, and now Brown added on a two-way deal, there is even more of a logjam for the three available two-way spots. The Pacers already have guard/wing Ethan Thompson, and their 54th overall pick from the 2025 NBA Draft, guard Taelon Peter, signed to those two-way deals.

The Pacers still have one roster spot open, but only Braden Smith and Taelon Peter can be signed into the availabe salary cap space the Pacers have remaining.

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