What's Next for Braden Smith After Pacers Waive Player

Pacers open two-way spot with release of Ethan Thompson

Apr 1, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Ethan Thompson (55) looks to pass the ball against the Chicago Bulls during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Indiana Pacers had been weighing their options with Ethan Thompson's two-way contract, but ultimately made their decision Friday, August 14, when they waived the guard.

This transaction by Indiana led to Thompson landing a two-year contract with KK Partizan of the EuroLeague. It will be a one-plus-one deal according to two reports out of Serbia from Nova.rs and Meridian Sport.

In its official announcement of the signing, KK Partizan provided the following information on Thompson:

Ethan Thompson is Partizan's new basketball player Mozzart Bet! The American guard who plays for the Puerto Rican national team is the eighth player to join the black and whites this summer.

Thompson joins Partizan from the Indiana Pacers. In addition to the NBA, the former Oregon State College player played in the developmental league, where he was a teammate of Karlik Jones in the Chicago Bulls affiliate.

The new black and white basketball player was born in California on May 4, 1999, and comes from a basketball family. His father, Steven, played in the NBA, while his older brother, Steven Jr., also played for the Puerto Rican national team.

Ethan signed a two-year contract with the black and whites.

What do the Pacers do next?

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Braden Smith (3) shoots a lay up during the second half against the Miami Hurricanes during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now that Indiana has opened up a two-way roster spot, Braden Smith will likely be signed to the roster anytime now. After acquiring Smith during the second-round of the 2026 NBA Draft, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star reported that the team would be signing him to a two-way deal.

It's been nearly two months since the NBA Draft has taken place and Smith is still unsgined. The Pacers have already signed Jalen Slawson and Kobe Brown to two-way contracts, so until Thompson was waived there was no path for Smith to join on a two-way deal.

Indiana could technically still sign Smith to a zero-year veteran's minimum contract, but that seems unlikely at this point. The Pacers can utilize their 15th roster spot in a more useful way then filling it with a developing Smith.

Under the minimum salary exception rules, proration of contracts begins after the first day of the season. With Indiana only having $2.23 million available in first apron space, they would have to wait till a few weeks in the season before being eligible to sign a player to a minimum contract.

There is no need to rush into signing a player, but if Indiana feels that adding a veteran depth piece would be helpful to their roster, financially they can make that happen using the minimum salary exception around the middle part of November.

Free agents that are available during this time of the season aren't typically gamechangers, but Indiana has seen middle-to-late season additions play a bigger role than expected when signing. Tony Bradley (in 2024-25) and Micah Potter (in 2025-26) come to mind.

Unrestricted Veteran Free Agents

Here are a few names of current unrestricted free agent veterans that Indiana could look at adding: Kevin Love, Nick Richards, Kelly Olynyk, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, Tony Bradley, Bruce Brown, Nic Batum, and Aaron Holiday.

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