The Indiana Pacers have decided to keep Quenton Jackson around on a fully guaranteed deal, locking in his contract for the 2025-26 season and putting him on track to earn just over $2.58 million in his first full year on a standard NBA contract, a league source told the IndyStar on Wednesday.
That decision matters because Jackson’s deal had only been partially guaranteed until the deadline. If Indiana had cut him loose before then, the team would have owed him just $275,000 and opened up room under the first luxury tax apron to potentially add another player. Instead, the Pacers chose to commit to an undersized but energetic guard who has kept climbing since entering the league as an undrafted free agent.
Jackson’s path to this point has been anything but direct. The Los Angeles native went from prep school and junior college to Texas A&M, where he earned All-SEC honors in 2021-22 after getting an extra year of eligibility because of the COVID pandemic.
He went undrafted, signed with the Wizards, spent time with the Capital City Go-Go, and later landed a two-way deal. After that came an Exhibit 10 stint with the Bulls before Indiana brought him in on a two-way contract in March 2024.
He barely saw the floor that season, appearing in just three games. But his role grew in 2024-25, when he played 28 games and made seven starts, getting his first NBA starts in November while the Pacers were dealing with multiple injuries.
Jackson also stood out in the G League during that stretch, back when Indiana’s affiliate was still called the Indiana Mad Ants. He averaged 22.3 points, 5.4 assists and 4.8 rebounds in nine games in 2023-24, then followed that with 22.5 points, 5.7 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game in 16 games in 2024-25. Even on a two-way deal for most of last season, he played two games with the Noblesville Boom and averaged 18.5 points and 6.5 assists.
This past season, Jackson became a much bigger part of the Pacers’ rotation. Injuries hit Indiana hard all year, and he responded by appearing in 49 games and starting 19.
He averaged 9.1 points, 2.9 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game, and his two-way contract was converted to a standard deal on Feb. 28.
He gives the Pacers depth at both guard spots, since he can handle either one. Indiana now has 14 players under contract and one standard roster spot open, while sitting about $2.2 million below the first apron, where the team is hardcapped after using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign forward Kelly Oubre Jr.
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Former Pacers Big Man Just Took An Unexpected Career Turn
Jalen Robinson-Earls path has taken another unexpected turn, this time away from the NBA and toward Greece. After spending last season in the G League and previously bouncing through several NBA stops, the former Pacers big man has finalized a two-season deal with Aris, a move that puts him in one of Europes more visible leagues and on a team that also has added other former NBA players.
The timing makes the decision notable for Indiana fans, too. Robinson-Earl had been waiting through the summer for an NBA opening, but with the market not breaking his way, Aris became the next stop for a player who once spent time on 10-day contracts and a non-guaranteed deal with the Pacers before being waived in December. Aris will give him both a fresh start and a chance to play in Greeces top league and the EuroCup, but for now the bigger question is how long this latest detour keeps him overseas. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans May Finally Get The Last Word On Zubac Trade
The Pacers old deal with the Clippers has a way of looking better with time, and the latest reminder comes from how little has gone right for the pieces Indiana sent out. Benedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson were part of the package, along with the draft capital that eventually turned into the fifth overall pick, and the transaction has become one of those front-office swings that keeps getting re-litigated as the years pass.
What makes it linger for Indiana is not just what the Pacers got back in Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown, but how the trade has continued to shape their flexibility since then. One of the players tied to the draft return has struggled in Summer League, Jacksons career arc has not gone the way anyone in Indianapolis hoped, and the longer this plays out, the more the original move starts to look like a win for the Pacers even before the final accounting is complete. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Fans May Not Agree On This Victor Oladipo Reunion
Victor Oladipo is still trying to find his way back into the NBA, and the latest sign of progress came with a workout overseen by Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Phil Handy. For Pacers fans, the name alone is enough to stir up old memories, since Oladipo once mattered a great deal in Indiana and now sits in that tricky space where nostalgia, caution and basketball fit all collide.
Indiana has not been officially tied to him, but it is easy to see why the idea keeps coming up as a possible landing spot. If the Pacers ever decided to make a move, Oladipo could give them another option behind Andrew Nembhard at shooting guard and even allow Kelly Oubre Jr. to slide to small forward behind Aaron Nesmith, which is the kind of roster ripple effect that makes these reunions worth debating even before anything concrete happens. [Read more 🡒]