Indiana Pacers’ Jalen Slawson dribbles during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to sign wing Jalen Slawson to a two-way contract. The 26-year old forward has spent the ongoing campaign with the Pacers G League affiliate franchise, the Noblesville Boom. It’s a one-year pact covering the rest of the 2025-26 season.
Slawson was a second-round pick back in 2023 and spent his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings. That campaign, the Furman product appeared in 12 games and averaged 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. Since then, he has bounced around between the Orlando Magic and Pacers organizations.
Most of Slawson’s time in the pros has come via the G League. With the Kings and Magic affiliate teams, the forward averaged between 12 and 13 points per game while being a solid passer and rebounder for his position.
That got him a training camp invite with Indiana last fall. Slawson spent all of the 2025 preseason on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers, and he appeared in all four of the team’s tune-up games ahead of the regular season. He averaged 2.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Slawson was waived just before the regular season, but the Pacers affiliate team owned his G League rights, and he’s spent the entire season with the Noblesville Boom. That’s where the 6-foot-7 forward has popped – he’s averaging G League career highs of 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game for the Boom this season, including an improved 34.7% three-point percentage.
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 7: Jules Bernard #14 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against Jalen Slawson #18 of the Indiana Pacers during the second half of the preseason game at Target Center on October 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
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He’s been among Noblesville’s best players this year, and with the team losing many players to injury or overseas opportunities, he has recently become the G League’ club’s top option. Even with more responsibility and attention, Slawson has continued to produce.
Now, he gets a call up to the Pacers via a two-way contract. He’s eligible to be active for 13 of the Pacers final 22 games – two-way contract players are only able to appear in a maximum of 50 games in a league year, and that ratio of games gets prorated if they are signed mid-season.
Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had good memories of Slawson’s play for Indiana during the preseason. “ I think he’s an NBA player,” Carlisle said. “He’s had a good year with the Boom and this will be a great opportunity for him to play some games.”
Two-way contracts provide a salary that is half of the NBA’s rookie minimum, which would equate to $636k over the course of a full season. Prorated for the current day on the calendar, that means Slawson will make about $161k on his two-way with Indiana the rest of the season.
Two-way deals have no impact on a team’s salary cap, so the Pacers have no changes to their spending reality. They opened up a two-way spot by converting the contract of Quenton Jackson earlier this weekend.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonyeast/2026/02/28/indiana-pacers-to-add-wing-jalen-slawson-via-a-two-way-contract/


