Indiana Pacers Plan To Sign RayJ Dennis To Two-Way Contract

The Indiana Pacers plan to sign guard RayJ Dennis to a two-way contract, per multiple reports. Michael Scotto of HoopsHype first noted the upcoming transaction.

Dennis, 23, has been with the Los Angeles Clippers G League affiliate team, the San Diego Clippers, during the ongoing season. He’s played in 18 games for San Diego and has averaged 16.7 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. So far, he’s started every game and has been an effective floor general for a good G League group.

His only NBA experience came during the preseason with Los Angeles. He had two assists and three rebounds against the Golden State Warriors in his only appearance for the pro Clippers, and he was waived prior to the regular season. The Washington Wizards then signed Dennis to a two-way deal, but he was waived a few days later.

That’s a winding journey, but it led to no team having Dennis’ NBA rights over two months into the 2024-25 league year. That is no longer the case as the Pacers will sign the rookie guard, who was not selected during the 2024 NBA Draft.

Dennis was born in Illinois and played his high school basketball there before a five-year college career that took place at Boise State, Toledo, and Baylor. With the Bears in his final college season, Dennis averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 assists per game — the latter number ranking ninth in the country. That passing ability has been evident in the G League so far.

Indiana had an open two-way contract slot after moving on from guard Tristen Newton on Wednesday. He occupied one of the Pacers three two-way deals, with the others going to Enrique Freeman and Quenton Jackson. Jackson and Freeman have been needed in the NBA this year thanks to many Pacers injuries, but Newton spent almost his entire season in the G League with the Indiana Mad Ants.

What can RayJ Dennis bring to the Pacers?

With Newton gone, the Pacers/Mad Ants needed another guard. Dennis fills that void. He is more of a setup man than a scorer, which is valuable on G League rosters that often have players with mismatched goals.

“RayJ is a really good player with a lot of potential,” LA Clippers summer league head coach Dahntay Jones said of Dennis, per the Toledo Blade. “He did some great things for us, and he showed he belongs.”

Dennis came to Indianapolis for a pre-draft workout with the Pacers on June 20. He was a part of the last group of prospects that hit the court in the St Vincent Center in front of Pacers executives. Clearly, Dennis left some kind of impression.

The to-be Pacer is 27th in the G League in assists per game among players with more than five appearances, and only 11 of those players are matching Dennis’ scoring numbers. He’s been one of the most effective guards in the G League this season, and many of the players statistically ahead of him are, or have been, on some form of an NBA contract this campaign.

Two-way contracts pay players half of the NBA’s rookie minimum salary, which is about $579k this season. Dennis will get a prorated amount of that number depending on how many days are left in the NBA season on the specific date he signs his two-way deal. It is unknown if his contract will be for one or two seasons — the details are still being finalized.

Additionally, two-way contracts carry no salary cap hit. While the Pacers are right up against the luxury tax with their spending this season, adding Dennis won’t bring the team into the tax. They still are below that threshold.

Indiana will have a full roster again once Dennis puts pen to paper. They’ll have two months to determine if they like their crop of two-way players enough to keep them for the rest of the season — early March is the deadline for NBA teams to sign players to two-way deals.

The Pacers are 16-18, and while Dennis may spend some time with them, he will almost certainly get more burn with the Mad Ants. The G League club wraps up a road trip on Saturday before returning home for six-straight games.