PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 19: Tony Bradley #13 of the Indiana Pacers dunks the ball in opposition to Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers at Xfinity Cellular Enviornment on January 19, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The 76ers defeated the Pacers 113-104. (Picture by Mitchell Leff/Getty Photographs)
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers are headed towards the NBA commerce deadline with a newly opened spot on their roster and a identified distance from the luxurious tax line, the closest monetary barrier in entrance of the group.
That’s as a result of the group made the selection on Thursday to not re-sign center Tony Bradley presently. Bradley was on a 10-day contract that he initially signed on January 19, which means it expired after January 28.
Stated date fell on Wednesday, and the Pacers hosted the Chicago Bulls that evening. It was a good win for Indiana, and Bradley didn’t seem within the sport. The veteran massive man logged simply six minutes of complete motion throughout the Pacers final 4 outings.
That’s due to two components – one being the Pacers enhancing well being at heart. Isaiah Jackson returned from a concussion earlier this month and is again within the rotational combine for the blue and gold, and he’s been getting regular backup minutes the previous few video games. On high of that, head coach Rick Carlisle has opted to begin video games with no heart on the ground to get extra spacing and tempo on the hardwood. Normally, that leaves little taking part in time for facilities to play.
Micah Potter, Jay Huff, and Jackson have just lately obtained most of Indiana’s backup heart minutes. With Bradley out of the image for court docket time, retaining him made much less sense from a basketball perspective.
What different causes did the Pacers have for not re-signing Tony Bradley?
It additionally made little sense from a roster technique perspective, no less than presently. Utilizing monetary sources on a veteran who doesn’t play a lot is never good enterprise, and the upcoming commerce deadline provides the Pacers causes to favor having no one as a substitute of retaining Bradley.
NBA guidelines solely enable groups to signal people to 2 10-day contracts in a season. After that, a participant can solely signal a normal, rest-of-season NBA cope with the franchise. Bradley signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Pacers this month, which means the Pacers wouldn’t have the ability to retain the eight-year professional with out signing him to an settlement for the rest of the season.
Indiana Pacers heart Tony Bradley (13) collides with Houston Rockets ahead Tari Eason (17) beneath the basket in the course of the second half of an NBA basketball sport Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Houston. (AP Picture/Karen Warren)
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NBA contracts can now not be non-guaranteed as of earlier this month, so if the Pacers needed to retain Bradley they might’ve needed to signal him to a assured contract. Doing so would have value the blue and gold, at minimal, $977k in opposition to the wage cap.
That might have restricted the group’s flexibility forward of the upcoming NBA commerce deadline. As issues stand, the Pacers are about $5.5 million beneath the luxurious tax threshold and sport a 12-36 document, so spending extra on the roster and paying a luxurious tax invoice to take action can be ill-advised. That ought to be seen as basically an higher spending restrict for the Pacers.
However the Indiana entrance workplace does have the total Non-Taxpayer Mid-Lever Exception and a Disabled Player Exception at its disposal. Which means the Pacers can soak up a participant by way of trades with out sending out matching wage in return, as long as the acquired participant’s wage just isn’t so massive that it will trigger the Pacers to cross the primary wage cap apron. That apron is above the tax threshold, however Indiana is tough capped at that quantity.
Whereas going proper as much as the primary apron would put the blue and gold over the tax line, having the ability to tackle some wage remains to be useful. Proper now, for instance, the Pacers may purchase a participant making $4.8 million in a commerce with out sending away any gamers whereas nonetheless remaining beneath the luxurious tax line. If that they had signed Bradley to a veteran’s minimal deal, doing that very same transfer would have made the Pacers a taxpaying group.
Not solely that, however the Pacers now have an open roster spot. That makes buying and selling simpler – Indiana can now soak up yet another participant than they ship out in a cope with one other group. That, too, provides flexibility to Indiana’s commerce deadline choices.
So whereas Bradley was sufficient in his minutes this season, averaging 4.0 factors and a pair of.8 rebounds per sport, signing him proper now doesn’t make sense for the Pacers. Having extra commerce choices is extra vital for a group looking for long-term value.
Ought to the Pacers commerce away any of their facilities, maybe they might deliver Bradley again later within the season. He is aware of the system properly and is a popular locker room presence. However proper now, the group doesn’t have a necessity at heart and may make extra use of commerce deadline flexibility.
