Pacers Waive Micah Potter to Make Room for Veteran

Wednesday afternoon, ESPN's Shams Charania was first to report that the Indiana Pacers had reached an agreement with eleven-year veteran, Larry Nance Jr. However, in order for this move to legally work, the Pacers had to make a roster move since they were hard-capped at the first apron.

Unfortunately for Pacers' big man, Micah Potter, the addition of Nance Jr. means that his $2.8M non-guaranteed contract had to be waived from the team's salary cap. This was confirmed to me by a league source and made official in the early evening of July 8th.

Pacers Save Money with Move

Next season Larry Nance Jr. will earn $3.88M for his one-year deal, however, it will only cost the Pacers $2.45M on the books next season. This move saves Indiana $400K and gets them further away from the first apron.

Because the NBA implemented a veterans minimum exception to keep franchises from prioritizing the signing of younger players over veterans, the Pacers only have to pay the salary equivalent to a two-year veteran for Nance Jr., which is $2.45M.

Tony East of Forbes and Circle City Spin reported that Kelly Oubre Jr.'s contract would be just above $8.0M this upcoming season. If you include the $2.45M going against the Pacers' books for Nance, Indiana is now $2.24M away from the first apron, which is about $600K more in space than had originally been reported.

14 Players Under Contract...Could There Be Another Move?

Feb 8, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers guard Johnny Furphy (12) leaves the game after injuring himself during the second half against the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Indiana still sits at 14 players under contract for next season, which is not something they've done before in previous seasons, as they are a team who prefers to carry 15 players into the start of the regular season. It would make sense for them to add a 15th player with third-year wing, Johnny Furphy, still out rehabbing from his torn ACL injury that he suffered at the beginning of February in Toronto, Canada.

Because of the extra financial wiggle room created by the Pacers by swapping out Potter for Nance Jr., they could sign a player with either zero or one year of experience to the veteran minimum and still be under the first apron. They could not add a player with three years of experience as they would make too much money for the available space they have.

Promoting a Two-Way Player an Option?

With Indiana's logjam at the two-way spot with Taelon Peter, Jalen Slawson, Braden Smith, and Ethan Thompson, it would make sense if the Pacers promoted Peter to a standard contract on a non-guaranteed deal.

Peter's salary would be $2.16M this season, and it would allow for Indiana to utilize their two-way spots with the other three. According to Spotrac's Free Agency List, Jalen Slawson and Ethan Thompson have two years of NBA service, so they would not be eligible for this type of move. However, some are only listing Thompson as a one year of service player.

Final Thoughts

Jan 30, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard speaks during an Indiana Pacers press conference at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

Lastly, this move puts Indiana at just around $5.8M over the luxury tax line, and if they wanted to get under the tax by the NBA Trade Deadline they could trade Jarace Walker's expiring contract of 8.4M and stay under.

As a franchise that has not paid the tax in over twenty seasons, don't be surprised if this is the direction they lean. With the Pacers books set up to be extremely close to the tax in the 2027-28 season, they might elect to not pay the tax this upcoming season, so they can avoid the repeater tax penalty.

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