INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – OCTOBER 16: Ben Sheppard #26 of the Indiana Pacers and Garrison Mathews #25 of the Atlanta Hawks react at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on October 16, 2023 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to sign wing Garrison Mathews to a contract via the hardship exception. By rule, those deals are to be 10-day contracts.
Mathews, a 29-year old off-ball guard/wing, spent preseason and training camp with the New York Knicks but was waived prior to the start of the regular season. He has yet to appear in a game this campaign but averaged 6.8 points per game for New York during four exhibitions.
He did showcase his best skill with the Knicks by being effective with his long-range jumper. Mathews took 17 three-point shots during the preseason and made seven of them, good for 41.2%. In his NBA career, 38.2% of his outside shots have gone in, including 41.4% across his most recent two seasons.
His ability to get up threes, and quickly, makes him a weapon for any team. More than 80% of Mathews shot attempts in each season of his career have come from long range, which contributes to a tidy 61.7% career true shooting percentage. The Lipscomb product rarely turns the ball over, too.
Mathews doesn’t provide a ton beyond his spacing and ball movement, but he’s so reliable at his best skills that he’s still a solid player. The Pacers will now bring him in for 10 days and hope he can help the team’s three-point shooting, which is currently dead last in the league in terms of percentage.
Why are the Pacers able to add Garrison Mathews?
The Pacers will first be granted a hardship exception, which will allow them to add Mathews without waiving or trading a player. It’s the fourth time the Pacers have used a hardship exception this season – twice they used one to sign Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and the other time Cody Martin joined the roster.
In order to be eligible for a hardship deal, a team with 15 players under contract must have at least four players who have missed three games and will continue to miss time. For the Pacers, who have been banged up this season, meeting that criteria has been a constant this month.
Atlanta Hawks guard Garrison Mathews (24) shoots a three-pointer while guard by Indiana Pacers forward Cole Swider (21) during the second half of a preseason NBA game, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jason Allen)
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Right now, the team is without Tyrese Haliburton for the rest of the season and Obi Toppin for multiple months. Aaron Nesmith is projected to miss a few weeks as well. Those three players, combined with absences for Kam Jones and Johnny Furphy, give the Pacers a path to a hardship exception.
In this case, it leads them to Mathews. He’ll be on the team for 10 days, and none of the players who were ruled out in connection with signing Mathews can return during that 10 day period. Indiana is also missing talented two-guy contract guard Quenton Jackson, but two-way contract players don’t count toward hardship contract eligibility.
With six players currently sidelined, and three of them being key rotation players, it’s no wonder the Pacers have struggled of late. They just ended an eight-game losing streak on Wednesday and currently sit at 2-13, one of the NBA’s worst records. Injuries have held the team back – on top of their current absences, they’ve seen Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Taelon Peter, T.J. McConnell, and Cody Martin miss time. Star forward Pascal Siakam rested a game, too.
Because the Pacers have been so injured, they’ve had to make several transactions to field a normal rotation. With the addition of Mathews and a transaction to sign Robinson-Earl to a standard deal coming, the blue and gold will have already made seven signings less than one month into the season. It’s been impossible to plan for and is the biggest factor in the team’s poor start.
Mathews will wear jersey number 24 with the Pacers and is available for a battle with the Cleveland Cavaliers tomorrow.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tonyeast/2025/11/20/garrison-mathews-to-join-indiana-pacers-on-10-day-hardship-contract/
