The Indiana Pacers have agreed to sign forward Kobe Brown to a two-way contract. Brown spent the last two months of the 2025-26 season with the Pacers after being traded to the franchise as part of the deal that netted Indiana Ivica Zubac. As of their last result, Indiana Pacers lost to Detroit Pistons 121-133 on 2026-04-12, and have a recent form of 1W-0D-4L.
What happened?
Kobe Brown is eligible for a two-way deal since he has less than four years of NBA service time. He’s only been a pro for three years and had the fourth season of his rookie-scale contract declined by the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, which made him a free agent this summer.
The Pacers were limited in what they could pay Brown, but they don’t need to worry about salary cap constraints in this instance. Two-way deals come with no cap hit for teams and net players a salary that is half of the zero years of service minimum. For Brown, that’s about $675k in earnings.
Why did the Pacers sign Kobe Brown?
Brown averaged 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Pacers last season, big improvements over his production with the Clippers. He found his footing in Indiana, something that he attributed to the team’s method of play.
“Just the style of play. The ball never stops moving… I just feel like it’s hard not to fit in here. Everything’s random, nothing’s scripted,” Brown said of the Pacers and how he meshed with their up-tempo style.
What comes next?
A two-way deal will make it so Brown can easily split time between the Pacers and their G League affiliate, the Noblesville Boom. As a 2023 first-round pick, Brown has room to grow and G League opportunities will give him important development time. But he also flashed real skill in the NBA last season and could be of use to Indiana in a pinch.
While Brown is inexperienced, he turns 27 during the upcoming season. That’s on the older side when compared to the typical player on a two-way pact, but he’ll be more valuable in his NBA minutes than the typical two-way signee. It’s a tradeoff that the Pacers, who hope to win often this season, will be ok with.
The Pacers now have 19 players in their orbit this offseason, and 17 will be signed to contracts once Brown and the recently-signed Larry Nance officially put pen to paper. The highest number of players a team can roster in the offseason is 21. With the current roster and the signing of Brown, the Pacers are looking to improve their performance, especially after losing their last 4 games, including the last result against Detroit Pistons on 2026-04-12.
