RealGM Basketball Wiretap

22 January 2026

• Pacers To Sign Tony Bradley To Second 10 Day Contract

  The Indiana Pacers are set to sign center Tony Bradley to a second 10 Day contract. Bradley's first 10 Day deal completed after Saturday's loss to the Detroit Pistons.

  Indiana waived Bradley earlier this month before his contract became fully guaranteed. They almost immediately re-signed Bradley for depth purposes, with fellow big man Isaiah Jackson out due to a concussion.

  When Bradley completes this second 10 Day deal, the Pacers would need to sign him for the remainder of the season to keep him on the roster. Players are limited to signing no more than two 10 Day contracts with the same team per season.

• Tyrese Haliburton Focused On Finals Return As He Rehabs Achilles

  Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton has leaned on fellow NBA players and creative pursuits while recovering from a torn right Achilles suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals last summer. The 25-year-old point guard told The Athletic the injury remains a constant presence in his thoughts as he works toward his return.

  Haliburton spent the early offseason rehabbing alone at the Pacers' practice facility while teammates vacationed after the devastating Finals loss. The isolation and monotonous recovery routine proved challenging for a player whose game relies on movement and transition. Injury rehabilitation was cavernous and thoughts echoed in his mind.

  "I think about it every time I blink," Haliburton said of the injury. "I think about it all the time. I don't know if I'll ever not think about it, but you gotta understand that you've got to move on."

  "I don't say I'm stuck in Indiana, but I was here rehabbing, and I'm in the gym by myself with nobody else in there," he told The Athletic. "It just became sad after some time because I just want to be able to do what I normally do and I wasn't able to do that."

  Haliburton has maintained regular contact with other players recovering from Achilles injuries, including Celtics star Jayson Tatum, Pelicans All-Star Dejounte Murray and Kevin Durant. The shared experience created a brotherhood that has helped him navigate the psychological challenges of rehabilitation. Durant suffered an Achilles tear during Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals and was one of the first people Haliburton spoke with after his injury.

  "Me and Jayson talk a lot. Dejounte has been great for me," Haliburton said. "There's a few of us going through the same thing and us being able to check on each other is important."

  His fiancee Jade Jones has been a constant presence throughout the recovery. The couple got engaged in late July at Iowa State University where they first met, with Haliburton proposing on the basketball court with his injury scooter nearby. Jones has attended Pacers games regularly since the couple met in college.

  "The first couple months when he literally couldn't walk were the hardest," Jones told The Athletic. "Tyrese doesn't ever stop. He's never experienced an injury like this in his career so it's been an adjustment for him."

  Haliburton has explored new interests during his time away from basketball, including joining Amazon Prime as a player contributor for NBA coverage, creating documentary-style video blogs with his best friend and videographer Zachery Remy, starting a gaming channel with his brother Marcel and learning to DJ. Jones said he now carries his DJ equipment on Pacers road trips to practice in his hotel room.

  The Pacers are 9-31 this season after reaching the Finals last year. Haliburton has returned to the bench as a player-coach, offering guidance to teammates while progressing through his rehabilitation. He arrives at the practice facility between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. for three-and-a-half-hour sessions focused on strengthening his calf with trainers Carl Eaton and Justin Tallard.

  "I feel really good. It's been good for me to kind of be away a little bit, but I'm progressing really well," Haliburton said. "I'm not working this hard for no reason."

  Despite the long road back, Haliburton remains focused on returning to the NBA Finals and winning a championship. He understands the difficulty of reaching that stage again but embraces the challenge ahead.

  "I have to just understand - obviously ours is a little bit more dramatic - but there've been a lot of people who have lost in that NBA Finals stage and have had to work to get back there," he said. "And sometimes you don't get back there. That's just the way it goes. I understand how hard I'm gonna have to work to get back there, and I plan on that. So I'm excited about the journey that it'll take to get back there, and I think that'll make it feel even better. That's what I think about more than anything."

• Rick Carlisle Becomes 11th Coach To Win 1000 Games

  Rick Carlisle became the 11th coach in NBA history to win 1000 career games on Thursday night after the Indiana Pacers defeated the Charlotte Hornets 114-112.

  The Pacers had been on a franchise-record 13 game losing streak before the win.

  "I'm so happy for our players," said Carlisle. "The last month has been so challenging in so many ways. We have an amazing group of guys who continue to fight through thick and thin."

  Carlisle managed the feat in just over 23 seasons with the Pistons, Mavs, and Pacers.

  Carlisle's overall record stands at 1000-891.

  Carlisle has coached against ten other coaches who have reached the 1000 win mark. He is also the first coach to hit the mark since Doc Rivers in 2021.

• Tony Bradley, Pacers Sign 10-Day Contract

  The Indiana Pacers have signed center Tony Bradley to a 10-day contract.

  Bradley has appeared in 29 games this season with the Pacers, averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.7 minutes.

  Bradley is represented by Mitch Frankel and is in his eighth NBA season.

• Pacers Waive Tony Bradley Before Contract Guarantee Deadline

  The Indiana Pacers have waived center Tony Bradley before Wednesday's 5 p.m. ET contract guarantee deadline. Bradley appeared in 29 games this season, averaging 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game.

  Bradley was one of 32 players around the NBA whose contracts were set to become fully guaranteed if not waived by the deadline. The Pacers will absorb a $1.36 million cap hit from the transaction.

  Indiana now sits $5.9 million below the luxury tax threshold and has one open roster spot following Bradley's release.

  Bradley's departure opens a roster spot for the Pacers to either sign a free agent or leave open for a potential trade acquisition.

• Bennedict Mathurin 'Out For A While' Due To Thumb, Toe Injuries

  The Indiana Pacers seemed to be turning a corner with player availability, but their injury-ravaged season continued with the loss of another key player. The Pacers are shutting down Bennedict Mathurin, who has been playing through a right thumb sprain and also has a case of turf toe.

  "When we're down numbers, it becomes more challenging, but we've gotten some guys back," Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. "But now Mathurin's out for a while."

  Mathurin attempted to play through the thumb injury over several games, but was struggling to find his form. His shooting and scoring have both slipped, and Mathurin has been spotted flexing his thumb throughout games.

  The Pacers continue to be without Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin on long-term injuries. Isaiah Jackson has also been out for several games.

• Wizards, Kings, Pacers Considered Most Likely To Have Best 2026 NBA Draft Lottery Odds

  The 2025-26 season isn't halfway over yet, but the three teams who are widely expected to finish the season with the best lottery odds are the Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings and Indiana Pacers. The New Orleans Pelicans are behind the Kings in the standings, but they don't have the same incentive structure as their first round pick in 2026 was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Derik Queen.

  The Wizards are in another season of a multi-year rebuild, while the Tyrese Haliburton injury in the Finals has been followed by a number of additional injuries for the Pacers to torpedo their season. The Kings, meanwhile, have signaled they will enter a rebuild with hopes of trading some of their core players.

  The top-3 teams will each have a 14 percent probability of winning the lottery and 52.1 percent of having a top-4 pick.

  "This has been a fascinating five days at the bottom of the standings in the NBA," said Zach Lowe on his podcast on Monday. "If you had to tier the lottery right now, tier one, best chance at a top three, top four lottery seed, Washington, Indiana, Kings, Pelicans are kind of right now in a tier by themselves.

  "Of those three teams, I think Washington, Indiana, and Sacramento have no hope of exiting this tier and no real ambition to do so," continued Lowe. "I think those are the safe bets to finish with the three worst records in the NBA and be very hard to 'catch' for anybody currently above them in the standings.

  "The Pelicans, although they have lost three straight, have been pretty frisky. The numbers when they have their best players on the floor like Herb Jones plus Trey Murphy plus Zion [Williamson], they actually have a positive scoring margin. They're trying to win. They're trying to stave off the embarrassment of potentially sending a super high pick somewhere else. I could see them climbing into the next tier pretty easily if they continue to play with this effort level and stay healthy."

  The next teams above those four in the standings include the LA Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz. The Jazz have a top-8 protected pick that extinguishes if it isn't conveyed in 2026.

• Aaron Nesmith Likely To Return Saturday

  Indiana Pacers wing Aaron Nesmith is expected to return to the lineup on Saturday after a 19-game absence. Nesmith hasn't played since mid-November due to a sprained left knee.

  The Pacers have continued to be ravaged by injuries this season, but are slowly getting players back in their lineup. Bennedict Mathurin recently returned, as have Quenton Jackson, Kam Jones and Taelon Peters.

• Pacers Sign Micah Potter, Waive Garrison Mathews

  The Indiana Pacers have signed center Micah Potter. Potter will be available for the Indiana Pacers for Friday's game against the Boston Celtics.

  Potter appeared in 38 games last season with the Utah Jazz, averaging 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes. Potter appeared in five games in the preseason with the San Antonio Spurs.

  In subsequent moves, the team waived guard Garrison Mathews and released center James Wiseman from his 10-Day contract.

• Pacers Sign James Wiseman To 10-Day Contract, Release Gabe McGlothan

  The Indiana Pacers have signed center James Wiseman to a 10-day contract, available as part of their NBA Hardship Exception. Wiseman will be on the active list for Saturday's game at the New Orleans Pelicans.

  In a subsequent move, the team released forward Gabe McGlothan from his 10-day contract.

  Wiseman appeared in four preseason games with the Pacers as he returns from a torn Achilles.