INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to convert the contract of guard Quenton Jackson from a two-way agreement to a standard, three-year NBA contract.
Jackson is in his third season with the Pacers, and he’s been on a new two-way pact for all three campaigns. The 27-year old has established himself with the franchise, going from an unknown guard with just nine appearances to his name to a reliable reserve ball handler. He’s played in over 20 games in each of the last two seasons for Indiana.
The Texas A&M product is athletic and gets to the paint often, making him a threat with the ball. Those abilities would fit in any system, but they are particularly valuable given the way the Pacers want to play. On top of his useful speed, Jackson has canned 39.5% of his 114 three-point attempts across the last two seasons. He’s become a threat to score from anywhere.
“Quenton’s been awesome. He was fantastic last night, and he’s a big part of our culture in our locker room,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said of Jackson earlier in February. Jackson had 19 points against the New York Knicks about 22 hours before Buchanan was interviewed.
In that same quote, Buchanan touched on the possibility of Jackson getting a standard contract since the Pacers had an open roster spot. “[That’s] definitely a real possibility,” he began. “Two-way guys, your life is a lot of unpredictability of where you’re going to be from day to day, and he approaches it with such a great attitude and a great competitive will to him, great competitive spirit. So that’s definitely something we’re considering.”
Just over three weeks later, the Pacers followed through on that possibility and will ink Jackson to a new deal. He will be on a standard contract for the first time of his career, and the agreement runs through the 2027-28 season.
Why are the Pacers signing Quenton Jackson now?
Last week, the calendar progressed to the point that the Pacers could sign a player to their 15th and final open roster spot while staying under the luxury tax. By waiting even longer to sign Jackson, the team could, in theory, make another move much later in the season – but they would have to waive someone to do so.
Jackson is averaging 9.2 points and 2.1 assists per game this season. He’s been one of the team’s more dynamic contributors off the bench this year and has three 20-plus point games.
The California native was asked on Thursday night if he’s thought about the Pacers open roster spot. “I’ve thought about it. I think it’s hard not to think about it. But at the same time, I wouldn’t say I wrap my head around it too much,” Jackson said. “I feel like in this game it’s best to think about the things that you can control. And I think that all the things, as far as two-ways and conversions and extensions, are things that are kind of out of my control in a sense.”
Jackson shared that he hadn’t spoken with the team’s front office about a new contract and was leaving that to his agent. His focus, rather, was keeping his energy up in games, remaining efficient with his shots, and being a pest on defense. Since the All-Star break, Jackson has done exactly that by averaging 15 points per game while shooting 52.6% from the field and also dishing out three assists per contest.
“What’s meant for me will be meant for me,” Jackson said. “If that’s a contract conversion, that’s a conversion. If I finish the year on a two-way, I finish on a two-way.”
In the end, he will get that standard contract. It’s going to be a minimum salary deal, so the exact value of the contract won’t be known until Jackson officially puts pen to paper. Should the deal be signed at some point this weekend, the cap hit for 2025-26 will be between $550k and $600k. The contract is partially guaranteed for the 2026-27 season and non-guaranteed in 2027-28.
The Pacers were able to sign Jackson to a three-year minimum deal using their Mid-Level Exception, a salary cap tool they held on to all season. The Pacers roster is now full, and they have an open two-way contract slot to fill that Jackson previously occupied. The deadline to sign a player to a two-way deal is March 4.