Several Exhibit 10 Moves Get Pacers Roster Ready For Training Camp

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers announced their finalized roster for training camp on Tuesday, and two non-standard players were the only surprises on the list of players.

The Pacers are bringing 20 players to camp – their 14 standard contracts being the most notable. On top of that crew, three two-way contract signees will be with the team in the lead up to the season, plus the recently signed James Johnson. Johnson signed an Exhibit 9 deal and is aware that he will be waived before the season starts due to Indiana’s salary cap situation.

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Asked if Johnson could be signed mid-season when the Pacers have enough room under the first apron, general manager Chad Buchanan was non-commital. “We haven’t really talked about that. He understands where we are at with the cap,” he said last week.

Johnson, plus the players signed to standard or two-way deals, brought the Pacers roster to a total of 18 players. Teams can carry up to 21 in the offseason, and Indiana is using those openinga to bring a pair of big men to camp.

Who did the Pacers sign to Exhibit 10 deals in the offseason?

Undrafted rookie big men Rienk Mast, a summer league standout for the blue and gold back in July, and Keba Keita are both with the Pacers for training camp. They both signed contracts with the Pacers on September 19.

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Per the team’s release announcing the addition of both players, they signed “Exhibit 10 contracts with the Noblesville Boom.” The Boom are the G League affiliate of the Pacers, and that phrasing suggests that the Pacers plan to waive the centers at some point during training camp.

Because both players are rookies, no G League team owns their rights. By signing Mast and Keita to an Exhibit 10 deal, then having them spend a single day in camp, their rights would transfer to Noblesville. Each player has participated in the first two days of Pacers training camp.

Exhibit 10 contracts are one year, non guaranteed minimum salary deals. They can be converted to a two-way contract at any time and do not count against the salary cap until the day before the regular season begins. Almost always, their primary benefit comes in the G League: If a player with Exhibit 10 language in their contract is waived by their NBA team, then spends at least 60 days with that team’s G League affiliate, they’ll be eligible for a negotiated bonus up to $91k.

In the same release announcing the signing of Mast and Keita, the Pacers also added Kowacie Reeves, Jr. and Jalen Warley via Exhibit 10 contracts. They were both waived two days later, but since they were technically under contract for one camp day their rights are now with the Boom.

The Pacers made four other signings using Exhibit 10 contracts earlier in the offseason, but they were more straightforward in nature. Three of the four were players who finished the 2025-26 season with the Boom, meaning their rights were already owned by the Pacers affiliate team. Those three players were M.J. Iraldi, Keion Brooks Jr, and Cam Hildreth. They all played for the Pacers during summer league action.

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Wade Taylor IV is the only other player to ink an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers this offseason. He spent the previous campaign with the Mexico City Capitanes in the G League, but the Boom traded for his rights in early September. That means he was eligible for an Exhibit 10 bonus if the Pacers were to sign him, and that took place on September 14.

Taylor IV was signed along with Brooks Jr, Hildreth, and Iraldi. All four players were waived the very next day and should be expected to be with Noblesville this season.

The Boom will also have Pacers rookie guard Braden Smith, who is on a two-way contract. The Pacers other two-way signees are forwards Jalen Slawson and Kobe Brown. On a two-way contract, players make half of the rookie minimum salary – they’ll receive $679k this season.

Mast and Keita are the final two Exhibit 10 recipients still in the Pacers orbit, though Indiana does still have an open roster spot to add another player if they are so inclined. That they are both in training camp is noteworthy, and they are providing useful center depth in the pre-season practices while Pacers veteran big man Larry Nance Jr recovers from a hamstring injury suffered earlier in September.

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The only Pacers player who agreed to an Exhibit 10 deal that did not ultimately sign one this summer was guard Tamin Lipsey. The undrafted rookie was granted a temporary restraining order in the Daley vs. NCAA case by the Monroe County Circuit Court in Indiana, so he is returning to Iowa State to play collegiately.

The Pacers are two days into training camp with most of their offseason maneuvering complete.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com