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Pacers keep free agent forward Kobe Brown on two-way contract
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- Pacers keep free agent forward Kobe Brown on two-way contract
INDIANAPOLIS -- Free agent forward Kobe Brown will be returning to the Pacers after taking advantage of playing time late in the season, but he will not on a standard contract.
Brown , who entered the offseason as the Pacers ' only unrestricted free agent, has signed a two-way contract with the Pacers, a league source told the IndyStar on Thursday. Brown came to the Pacers with center Ivica Zubac from the Clippers in the February trade that sent Bennedict Mathurin , Isaiah Jackson and three draft picks, including the Pacers' 2026 first-rounder, to Los Angeles .
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A two-way contract binds a player to both an NBA team and its G League affiliate. In a full season, he can be active for up to 50 NBA games, but is not postseason eligible. He is due half of the rookie minimum salary, which this year will be a little short of $700,000. His salary does not count against a team's salary cap figure.
Brown -- the No. 30 pick in the 2023 draft -- averaged 2.3 points per game in 2 1/2 seasons with the Clippers and was barely getting playing time when he joined Indiana . The Pacers were already effectively eliminated from playoff contention at that point, and Brown played more minutes in 27 games than he ever played in a full season with the Clippers. He averaged 9.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The 6-7, 250-pounder shot 50.3% from the floor and a remarkable 43.3% from 3-point range, hitting 39 of 90 attempts. In his entire time in Los Angeles, he made just 33 of 123 3-point attempts (26.8%).
Brown could still be waived at any point and he further tightens the competition for the Pacers' three two-way deals. Currently, Brown and guards Taelon Peter and Ethan Thompson are the three players under contract but any can be waived at any point. Recently drafted Purdue All-American Braden Smith has not signed a contract yet but source told IndyStar after the draft that he intended to sign a two-way contract. Forward Jalen Slawson ended last season on a two-way deal and is a restricted free agent, but he is playing for the Pacers in NBA Summer League and the Pacers extended him a qualifying offer so they can match any offer he gets elsewhere.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers keep free agent forward Kobe Brown on two-way contract
