Indiana Pacers To Waive Monte Morris, Sign Wing Jeremiah Robinson-Earl

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to waive point guard Monte Morris so that they can sign forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to a contract. Both Morris and Robinson-Earl have played in multiple games for the Pacers and weren’t signed until after the regular season started.

The move is necessary for the Pacers as Robinson-Earl’s current contract is about to expire. On November 10, the team signed the 25-year old wing to a 10-day contract via the NBA’s hardship exception, and that contract expires Thursday. Robinson-Earl will become a free agent, and he isn’t eligible for another 10-day deal with Indiana – teams can only sign a player to a maximum of two 10-day contracts in one season. Robinson-Earl has already reached that limit on hardship deals.

Because of those rules, the Pacers have to open a standard roster spot to keep the young wing. That’s where Morris comes into the picture – the veteran point guard has only been with the blue and gold for about two weeks, and his contract isn’t guaranteed. The Pacers were desperate for solid point guard play in early November with all of Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, Kam Jones, and Quenton Jackson sidelined by injuries.

That’s why they originally signed Morris. He’s a steady, caretaking floor general. The Pacers tried to bring him in before training camp, but the veteran was injured at the time. Yet the team still pursued Morris and added him in when there was an injury crisis at point guard.

In six outings with the blue and gold, Morris averaged 3.0 points and 1.5 assists per game. He had just two turnovers in total, his best trait. In his first four appearances, Morris logged 10+ minutes of action each time. He was a rotation piece and even shared the court with Nembhard a few times, an alignment the Pacers are fond of.

But as McConnell and Nembhard both returned and got healthier, Morris’ role shrank. His only playing time in his most recent appearances came in garbage time after the game was decided, and he didn’t play at all in the Pacers most recent outing – a win over the Charlotte Hornets. His role is gone.

As a result, Morris became the Pacers easiest player to move on from in order to open up a roster spot. He’ll be waived so the team can sign Robinson-Earl.

Why do the Pacers want to keep Robinson-Earl?

Robinson-Earl has been with the Pacers since the start of November, and he has proven useful for the squad. He’s appeared in 10 games, and as his impact grew so did his role – the five-year veteran started three times for the Pacers as they were on the mend.

Sure, injuries contributed to Robinson-Earl’s rising minutes. But even as players returned from injury, his role remained. Last night, in the Pacers second win of the season, he played for more than 16.5 minutes off the bench and buried an important three-point shot in the first half. In total, the Villanova product is averaging more than 20 minutes per game.

“He had great coaching in college. He was in a really good system with Oklahoma for a couple years,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said when asked how Robinson-Earl has fit in quickly. “He’s a knowledgeable player. He loves the game. He’s versatile, he understands the game. He has a real good IQ, he has good feel.”

So far, Robinson-Earl has averaged 5.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. His defense, mostly due to his size, has been valuable. Like the rest of his teammates, Robinson-Earl has struggled to make shots. But he’s found other ways to chip in and continues to get playing time with Johnny Furphy, Obi Toppin, and Aaron Nesmith all sidelined due to injury.

Robinson-Earl has yet to reach double figures in scoring for the Pacers but has climbed over 10 rebounds twice with 12 against the Golden State Warriors and 15 against the Brooklyn Nets. That’s where his impact has been felt the most.

“And he rebounds,” Carlisle concluded of Robinson-Earl’s contributions. “Anybody that can come up with the ball like that is going to create value.”

Robinson-Earl carried a cap hit of about $263k on his two 10-day agreements and now will be on a minimum-salary deal that isn’t guaranteed. He’ll have to keep producing to maintain his spot on the team.

So far, that hasn’t been an issue. Morris’ cap hit for his two weeks of service, should he be waived today, will be just under $198k. The Pacers continue to spend and tweak the back end of their roster while combating injuries — which has been the story of their season so far.

Indiana’s next game is on Friday in Cleveland. Against a bigger Cavaliers team, Robinson-Earl will be an important piece. The Pacers are 2-13 but getting healthier.