The Pacers are moving on from Micah Potter to make room for Larry Nance Jr.
Indiana plans to waive the big man, according to Tony East of Circle City Spin, and the move is designed to open enough space below the team’s first-apron hard cap to sign Nance Jr. to a minimum-salary contract. Potter has now officially been cut, per NBA.com’s transaction log, and he’ll clear waivers on Friday if no team claims him.
Potter’s run with the Pacers was the most active stretch of his NBA career. After previous stops in Detroit and Utah, he played in a career-high 47 games during the 2025/26 season, his fifth in the league, and became part of Indiana’s rotation as injuries piled up. In 19.3 minutes per game, the 28-year-old averaged 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting .515 from the field, .423 from three and .842 at the line.
Indiana had already exercised the $2.8MM team option in Potter’s deal for 2026/27 last week, but that salary was still non-guaranteed under the terms of the contract. As a result, once he’s waived, none of that money will stay on the Pacers’ books.
There’s also a path for Potter to return. If Indiana can clear more salary, the team could bring him back on a new non-guaranteed minimum deal with a lower cap hit of $2.45MM instead of $2.8MM. If not, the Pacers might need to use an Exhibit 10 contract so the move doesn’t count for cap and apron purposes.
Before any of that can happen, Potter has to get through waivers. Because he was on a minimum-salary contract, any team can claim him using the minimum salary exception.
In Other News...
Pacers Suddenly Face A Real DeMar DeRozan Dilemma
DeMar DeRozans sudden availability after Sacramento waived him on July 6 has created a fresh layer of offseason intrigue for teams looking for a proven scorer on a short-term deal, and Indiana is right there in the conversation. The Pacers have been linked to the idea of bringing in the veteran wing on a minimum salary, which would give them another established creator without a long-term commitment, while also opening the door to a reunion with Pascal Siakam.
The fit, though, is not as simple as the name value suggests. Indiana does not have cap space at the moment, so it would need to clear room to make a move work, and adding DeRozan would likely force a tough roster decision elsewhere. For a team trying to balance present-day competitiveness with its younger pieces, the question is whether a player of DeRozans profile is worth the squeeze if it means reshaping the back end of the roster to get him in the building. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Talent Is Turning Heads On The International Stage
Ivica Zubac has been a steady presence for Croatia, and his latest outing in a win over Israel only added to that reputation. The former Pacers center was efficient around the rim, controlled the glass and helped set the tone in a game Croatia handled well, while Andrew Nembhard continued to show the kind of poise Canada has come to expect from him in its victory over Jamaica.
There was more Pacers-adjacent production elsewhere on the international stage, too, with Ethan Thompson giving Puerto Rico a lift in its win over the Bahamas. For Indiana fans, it is another reminder that several familiar names are getting meaningful reps in high-leverage settings, and the broader question is how much of that momentum carries back once the international window closes. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Avoided The Haliburton Siakam Cap Squeeze Haunting Contenders
The Pacers have quietly put themselves in a far better place than a lot of contenders when it comes to the salary-cap squeeze that can turn a good roster into a brittle one. Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam are already the center of Indianas present and future, but their combined cap hit is still manageable, leaving the team with room to breathe instead of immediately forcing hard choices around the edges of the roster.
That matters because the league keeps offering reminders of how quickly things can get tight once a pair of stars starts eating up too much of the payroll. Clevelands recent Donovan Mitchell extension and Bostons decision to move Jaylen Brown both underscore the risk, while Indiana has another layer of protection built in since the real pressure from those deals does not arrive until 2028-29. The Pacers may still have to navigate what Siakam looks like later in the contract, but for now they have avoided the kind of cap trap that haunts so many hopefuls. [Read more 🡒]