Jul. 18—LAS VEGAS — The hierarchy of opportunities for NBA hopefuls who don't get selected in the draft usually begins with a traditional two-way contract, followed by an Exhibit 10 contract and then a Summer League invitation.
Usually being the principal word there.
Jalen Warley wasn't hearing from teams on the first day of the NBA draft last month, but activity and communication started to escalate on Day 2. By the end of the second round, Warley's cell phone was pulsating with a steady buzz as his agent relayed interest from different NBA organizations.
At least two wanted to bring him in on an Exhibit 10 deal, which would guarantee a Summer League opportunity and put the Gonzaga wing in solid position to earn a G League spot, if not a two-way contract.
The Indiana Pacers couldn't offer an "E-10" contract, but Warley was still a priority Summer League target for the Eastern Conference franchise after the 23-year-old visited Indianapolis for one of his seven pre-draft workouts.
Warley had a good feeling about Indiana, so he took a somewhat unconventional path, passing on multiple E-10's to sign on with the Pacers' summer squad.
"I thought I had a really good workout with them," Warley said in Las Vegas last Friday after a Summer League game against the Philadelphia 76ers . "A couple of the staff members, I actually had one that overlapped with me at Virginia. I had a really good relationship with him. But yeah, overall just kind of they stayed consistent, they reached out since the workout and I saw a really good opportunity, so I was just excited to get to Indiana."
The opportunity was enticing to Warley for a handful of reasons.
Indianapolis reminded the 6-foot-7 wing of Spokane, in part because of the rich basketball culture both cities share. Warley was also impressed with how the Pacers' organization operated — something else that struck the former Florida State and Virginia player when he took an official visit to Gonzaga in October 2024, committing to Mark Few's program the following month.
"It's just a really well-run organization, kind of reminds me of Gonzaga from top to bottom," Warley said. "It's just a joy to be in the building every day, so yeah, hopefully there will be some more opportunities after."
As they typically are for undrafted players, opportunities have been hit and miss for Warley at NBA Summer League, where the rookie has seen time in two of Indiana's four games, averaging 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 14.9 minutes.
The Pacers are primarily using Warley as a wing at the "3" or "4," but he's fulfilled a variety of roles at both ends of the floor, not too different from last season at Gonzaga, where he frequently guarded four or five positions and took on secondary ball-handling responsibilities.
"I love the energy he plays with, especially defensively," Pacers Summer League coach Bryce Tucker said. "He's really good on the ball, fights over ball screens, just very active. Offensively he's a slasher, good ball-handler. He can serve as a secondary playmaker, as well. He's been really good in the minutes he's played."
Warley admitted he's still adapting to the speed and spacing of the NBA game. The defensive three-second rule at the professional level has been another adjustment. In college, Warley liked to slide into the paint to provide help defense, but he has to be more mindful about how and when he can do it in the NBA.
"A lot more space. Obviously, guys are a little older," Warley said. "College has become a pretty old game, but I would say just the physicality and the ability to shoot the ball, just the spacing of it. So, it's just kind of a different game. Still a lot of similarities to college, especially at the level we played at Gonzaga."
Warley is still working to improve his shooting efficiency at Summer League, but the Pacers are encouraging the wing to expand his range and take open 3-pointers. Warley only attempted a handful of 3s his first three college seasons at Florida State and didn't shoot one in 722 minutes last year at Gonzaga.
"He plays really hard. He's trying to learn, got a lot of practice reps where he looked really good and obviously got some reps today," said Indiana forward Jalen Slawson , who had one of the Pacers' three two-way contracts last year. "I know he hasn't scored the ball as well as he wanted to but he's playing really hard and he's getting deflections, had a big block today, couple big rebounds, got on the floor. Extremely proud of him and playing hard is half the battle."
Since joining the Pacers, Warley has touched base with former Gonzaga point guard Andrew Nembhard , who's spent the last five NBA seasons with Indiana, to trade stories about their time in Spokane and discuss the leap from college to the NBA.
"I've seen him a couple times. Just chopped it up about his experience at Gonzaga, that transition from college to the pros," Warley said.
After redshirting in 2024-25, Warley became an integral piece of Gonzaga's rotation last season, averaging 6.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals. He posted a 22-point, 14-rebound double-double in Gonzaga's narrow Dec. 30 win at San Diego and helped the Zags navigate a three-game stretch without frontcourt starters Graham Ike and Braden Huff, filling in as the team's small-ball center against Seattle, Pepperdine and San Diego.
"I think I'm going to remember just our toughness, how much we fought," he said. "We dealt with a lot of adversity, actually both years I was there. Gonzaga is a really special place where you're playing in really high-pressure, high-moment games and different things, but we had so much fun doing it. We had a lot of confidence. ... It was probably some of the most fun I've had playing basketball, is what I'll remember."
Warley said he plans to return to Spokane in the offseason and indicated he'd be monitoring the Zags closely in 2026-27. He's optimistic about GU's frontcourt with Huff back in the fold and anticipates a big leap from sophomore wing Davis Fogle, who was Warley's locker mate last season and one of the players the fifth-year senior mentored.
"They're always in the gym and they work really hard," Warley said. "I think naturally Davis is probably going to get a little bit more of a voice going into his second year, kind of having an understanding, and B-Huff is the old guy on the team these days. So, he'll be steady. Even with my time, it's hard not to want to be in the gym and work hard when you see how hard those two guys work. I just want to see a big jump from them and step into that leadership role and lead the guys to a really successful season."
