The Indiana Pacers resolved part of their two-way contract question this week. Guard Taelon Peter was waived Monday. Forward Jalen Slawson agreed to a two-way deal Tuesday. Between the two transactions, Indiana settled how they'd keep Slawson on the team — while leaving the plan for their brand new draft pick Braden Smith up in the air.

Slawson made the decision easy

The 26-year-old forward entered the offseason as a restricted free agent after Indiana extended him a qualifying offer in late June. He had signed a two-way deal with the Pacers in February and averaged a productive 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds across 13 appearances. He also chipped in better than a steal and a block per game (often of the chase down variety).

In Las Vegas, he nailed the final part of his addition. Slawson led the Pacers in scoring at 20.8 points per game, ranking 13th among all Summer League participants, and added 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists. His defensive numbers were the more remarkable line: 16 total blocks led the entire Summer League, and his 3.2 per game ranked fourth. His 104 total points placed fifth in the event.

It must be said that Slawson was often careless with the ball — his 18 turnovers were third-most in Las Vegas — but Indiana won't rely on him as a playmaker in the regular season (hopefully).

Peter was the roster casualty

Peter's departure was a function of arithmetic more than performance, though performance did not help.

Indiana drafted him 54th overall in 2025 after a strong shooting season at Liberty, then signed him to a two-year, two-way deal. He spent the entire 2025-26 campaign with the club, appearing in 38 games and logging close to 500 minutes — substantial run for a late second-round pick, largely because injuries forced the Pacers to use him. He averaged 4.5 points and reached double figures six times.

The shooting that justified the pick never translated. Peter hit 32.8% from three in the NBA and 36.3% with the Boom, where he averaged 14.9 points across 20 appearances. In Summer League he averaged 10.4 points and did not distinguish himself in other areas.

The squeeze came from above. Indiana agreed to a two-way with Braden Smith after acquiring the No. 38 pick in June, then signed Kobe Brown to a two-way in early July, the day before Summer League began. With teams capped at three two-way players, Peter was suddenly caught in a 5-way competition for those spots.

Indiana is hard-capped at the first apron and carries only 14 players on standard contracts, which raises the likelihood that its two-way players will actually be needed. On that criterion, Slawson and Thompson are both closer to NBA-ready than Peter.

And that question of NBA readiness brings us back to the newest member of the Pacers.

The Braden Smith question

This is where the situation gets a bit murky.

Smith, Brown, and Slawson have all seemingly agreed to a two-way deals this summer and the team already has Ethan Thompson on one as well. That means they have four players assigned to three roster spots. Something has to give.

If I had to guess, I'd say the odd man out may well be Thompson rather than Smith but there is the possibility of moving one of those players to the active roster.

Part of me thought that Slawson or Brown would get the final roster spot considering their aforementioned readiness but signing them as two-ways indicates that the team really wants to keep that last spot open and preserve the minute cap flexibility it still has.

Smith seems unlikely to be the 15th guy on the roster based off what we saw in Vegas. He needs time to develop before running an NBA offense.

I assume they'll sign Smith to an Exhibit 10 deal to bring him to camp and let him compete with Thompson for the final two-way. This preserves the status quo for as long as possible without sacrificing any flexibility.

But stay tuned, things are always happening in Pacers-land, even if it's on the margins of the roster.

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