Pacers To Bring Back Garrison Mathews On Second 10-Day Hardship Deal

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to sign wing Garrison Mathews to another 10-day hardship deal. Mathews first agreement with the Pacers expired after Saturday night.

Mathews, 29, originally joined the Pacers on a hardship contract on November 20. He played in five games during his first contract with the team, and Indiana went 2-3 in those outings. Mathews has averaged 9.2 minutes per game with the team so far.

His on-court production has been muted. The six-year veteran shot 2/13 from the field during his first 10-day pact – all 13 shots were three-point attempts – and his effectiveness in other areas wasn’t noticeable. His defense was subpar. But he was only on the team for 10 days, a challenge mid-season hardship players face, and Mathews’ career track record suggests he can shoot the ball better than he has from long range. With more time to acclimate, better performances should be expected.

What does Garrison Mathews bring the Pacers?

“His experience. His shooting ability,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said when asked what he likes about Mathews. “He’s a spacer and a guy that can change the geometry of the game with his shooting.”

Mathews played for the Washington Wizards, Houston Rockets, and Atlanta Hawks before his opportunity with the Pacers. He spent the most recent training camp and preseason with the New York Knicks but was waived just before the start of the regular season. The Pacers scooped him up less than one month into the 2025-26 campaign.

In Mathews’ most productive season, he averaged 10 points per game for the Rockets. That was back in 2021-22. Since then, he’s had smaller roles but has improved his long-range shooting accuracy on difficult attempts from deep. He’s a threat from long range and provides spacing even when his shot isn’t falling.

Now, he joins the Pacers on another hardship contract. By default, hardship deals can only be 10 days in length, so Mathews will be with the blue and gold until December 10 on his new contract.

“I’ve always loved this team. They play fast, they have really good guards, everybody can score on this team,” Mathews said when asked how he can be of use to the Pacers. “I think I fit well being able to space the floor… Just being able to space the floor and run and knock down open shots and being able to do stuff like that, I think I can help this team.”

To qualify for a hardship exception, a team must be dealing with multiple injuries. Specifically, a full 15-man roster must have four players who have missed at least three games in a row, and those players must project to be out for about two more weeks.

For the Pacers, injuries have been the story of their season. Tyrese Haliburton (achilles) is out for the year, Obi Toppin (toe) will miss multiple months, and all three of Aaron Nesmith (knee), Johnny Furphy (ankle), and Kam Jones (back) are currently sidelined. Furphy was recently assigned to the G League for a practice session, but a combination of four players among the above five are contributing to the Pacers hardship contract eligibility. Haliburton and Toppin are two of the five.

Quenton Jackson, a productive Pacers player on a two-way contract, hasn’t played since November 3 with a hamstring injury. But players on two-way deals don’t contribute toward hardship eligibility for NBA teams. That’s just more bad luck for Indiana in a season full of it.

Mathews’ 10-day deal will count just under $132k against the salary cap. Between Mathews’ first contract and three other hardship deals the Pacers have given out this season, they’ve spent nearly $660k on hardship 10-day contracts this season. It’s been a borderline requirement for the team to sign players in order to field a natural rotation every night.

This move comes on the heels of the Pacers making a change to their two-way contract room, swapping out RayJ Dennis for Ethan Thompson. Indiana’s reserve wing/off-ball guard room has changed a nontrivial amount in the last two days as they continue to fight injuries with signings. The Pacers host the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight.