Pacers exercise options on pair of former first-round picks

The Pacers have guaranteed a pair of salaries for the 2024-25 season, announcing today in a press release that they’ve picked up their rookie scale team options on wing Bennedict Mathurin and big man Isaiah Jackson.

The sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft, Mathurin made the All-Rookie first team this past spring after averaging 16.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.5 minutes per contest. The 21-year-old appears poised to become a full-time starter this fall after coming off the bench in 61 of his 78 games last season.

Mathurin’s $6.92M salary for the coming season had already been guaranteed. As a result of the option pick-up, his $7.25M cap hit for the 2024-25 season is locked in as well. Indiana will have decide a year from now whether to exercise his $9.19M option for 2025/26.

As for Jackson, the 22nd overall pick from the 2021 draft has appeared in 99 games in his two seasons as a Pacer, averaging 7.6 PPG and 4.4 RPG in 16.0 MPG. He’s in the mix for backup center minutes behind Myles Turner this season, but will face competition from Daniel Theis and Jalen Smith.

Now that is has been exercised, Jackson’s 2024-25 team option will pay him a guaranteed salary of approximately $4.44M. He’ll become eligible for a rookie scale extension next July as he enters the final year of his rookie deal.

We’re tracking all of year’s rookie scale team option decisions right here.