Indiana Pacers Looking To Sign Guard Delon Wright Before Training Camp

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers have plans of signing veteran guard Delon Wright ahead of their training camp, which begins next week. Wright will need to undergo a physical examination first.

The 10-year veteran has played for 10 teams in his career, and he spent time with both the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks last season. In the 2019-20 league year, Wright played under current Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle when the two overlapped with the Dallas Mavericks.

Last year, the Utah product averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 assists per game – he was more productive with the Knicks than the Bucks. The best stretches of his career came with Memphis and Detroit earlier this decade. He paired healthy stats with strong defense and scored more than 10 points per game in 2020-21.

The Pacers wanted to add another point guard. They hoped that Monte Morris, who they agreed to terms on a contract with earlier this week, could be that guard. But Morris has a calf injury, meaning he won’t actually join the blue and gold. General Manager Chad Buchanan detailed the injury during a press conference on Thursday.

“Monte Morris unfortunately has a calf strain issue that is going to keep him out for a couple of weeks, so he will not be in training camp with us while he’s getting healthy,” Buchanan explained. “Monte was a guy that, we were looking for some guard depth. We’ll continue to look for some guard depth there.”

Why Delon Wright became the answer for the Pacers

Wright is the answer to that guard depth. He turned 32 earlier this year and would give the Pacers experience behind their current groups of points guards – Andrew Nembhard projects to be the starter at the position with T.J. McConnell as his backup.

Morris was set to sign an Exhibit 9 contract, which is a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum agreement that comes with injury protections during camp. While it hasn’t been confirmed what deal Wright is signing, it’s reasonable to assume it would be similar in makeup. The Pacers currently have a full roster, so they will have to waive someone to bring in the veteran guard – likely Exhibit 10 signee Samson Johnson.

The Pacers will be without star guard Tyrese Haliburton this season, which is why they are in need of point guard depth. That, combined with Carlisle’s warm feelings toward lineups with two point guards and the team’s need for experience, created the opening for a veteran lead guard. Kam Jones (second round pick), Quenton Jackson (two-way contract), and RayJ Dennis (two-way contract) don’t have enough court time as reserves heading into training camp.

“If there is a position we’d maybe look at… maybe another point guard,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said of his team in late July on the Setting The Pace podcast. “With [Nembhard] and [McConnell], it obviously puts a lot on their plates with nobody behind them right now that’s a pure point guard on our 15-man roster.”

Insert Wright. While he lacks some of the offensive qualities that made Morris a great theoretical offensive fit with Indiana, Wright brings defensive tenacity and postseason experience – he’s played in nearly 50 playoff outings in his career.

Once Wright signs, he will be a part of a group of players competing for a spot on the Pacers roster for the regular season. Jalen Slawson and Tony Bradley are on non-guaranteed contracts while James Wiseman is on a lightly guaranteed deal, and other Exhibit 10 signees may be in training camp as well. All of them will be competing for the final two roster spots for Indiana, though Wiseman has a leg up on the rest of the group.

It may come down to positional need. Should the blue and gold determine that center depth is important, then Bradley may earn a spot on the 15-man roster. If a third point guard is deemed to be more valuable, then Wright could stick around into the regular season. By being on an Exhibit 9 deal, Wright’s contract wouldn’t count against the salary cap until the regular season starts.

“I think the 15th roster spot is going to be a camp battle,” Pacers Vice President of Basketball Operations Ted Wu said on Thursday. “Listening to our coaches, having more ball handlers and more playmaking is important to them.”

Wright can bring those skills, and should the Pacers end up signing him, he’ll have a good chance to make their final roster. He has averaged 6.7 points and 3.0 assists per game in his career.