The Pacers are planning to sign free agent wing Garrison Mathews to a 10-day contract using a hardship exception, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).
Known primarily as an outside shooter, Mathews has appeared in 314 total NBA regular season games since debuting in 2019, averaging 6.5 points in 17.5 minutes per game and making 38.2% of his career attempts from beyond the arc for Washington, Houston, and Atlanta.
After spending the past two-and-a-half seasons with the Hawks, Mathews signed a non-guaranteed training camp contract this offseason with the Knicks in the hopes of earning a spot on their regular season roster. However, the 29-year-old was beaten out by fellow swingman Landry Shamet, resulting in New York waiving him at the end of the preseason last month. Mathews has been a free agent since then.
As we outlined in a separate story earlier today, the Pacers are currently carrying Jeremiah Robinson-Earl using a hardship exception, but his second 10-day contract is about to expire, so the team is signing him to a new two-year deal in order to retain him. Monte Morris will be waived to create room on the 15-man roster for Robinson-Earl.
A player isn’t permitted to sign a third 10-day contract with the same team, which is why Robinson-Earl is being moved to the standard roster, but the Pacers remain eligible for a hardship exception, which is granted when at least four players have missed three or more consecutive games and are projected to be out for at least two more weeks. Tyrese Haliburton (Achilles), Obi Toppin (foot), Aaron Nesmith (knee), and Kam Jones (back) all appear to fit that bill for Indiana.
Mathews will earn $165,197 over the course of his 10 days with the Pacers, while the team takes on a cap hit of $131,970.