Pacers Reveal Why James Johnson Can't Make Opening-Night Roster

The Indiana Pacers do not have the cap room to keep James Johnson on the roster to start the season, general manager Chad Buchanan said Thursday, two days after the veteran forward agreed to a training camp contract. Video of the comments was posted by Alex Golden.

Jake Fischer of The Stein Line first reported the deal on Sept. 22. Tony East of Forbes reported it carries Exhibit 9 language. Johnson, 39, was already with the team in Nashville, Tennessee, for its players-only minicamp last week.

Indiana has been open about the cap with both Johnson and his agent.

"We're all afraid to not bring him back," Buchanan said. "No, obviously you guys all know what James means to our locker room, our culture. He's a guy we have real fondness for, obviously."

"In his situation, we don't have the ability to actually keep him to start the season, but we're going to have him in training camp with us," Buchanan continued. "It's been communicated both ways. They understand, James [and] his agent, as do we on our end, but there's value in him in our training camp situation because the training camp is a really big chance to set the table for your year, both as how you play as a player, but also what you're about, your system, your culture."

"Coach Carlisle is a big believer in evaluating how guys play in training camp," Buchanan added. "And having a veteran like James who understands what the coaches want, he understands the team, he understands the system, to help with [establishing] what we're gonna be about for the year, it's gonna be very valuable for us. And he's just a guy you love having around."

The Pacers carry 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts. That leaves them roughly $2.2 million below the first apron, a hard cap they triggered in July by signing Kelly Oubre Jr. with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

A minimum contract for Johnson would count about $2.45 million.

An Exhibit 9 deal does not count against the cap during camp. If Johnson were still on the roster on opening night, it would convert to a one-year, non-guaranteed minimum contract. Should he suffer an injury in camp, the Exhibit 9 language entitles him to $15,000 rather than the full salary.

Buchanan said Indiana will look at the health of the roster and how the team is playing before deciding anything about its open spot.

"We [haven't] really talked about that," Buchanan explained. "He understands where we're at with the cap, and we're not gonna be able to have him start the season. But we'll see. We'll get into the season. Where's the team at? Where's the health of the team? How's the team playing? What do we need? And we do have an open roster spot that becomes more flexible as the season goes on. And we'll evaluate where the team's at."

Salaries prorate once the season begins. Beginning Nov. 5, Indiana could fit a 15th player on a prorated veteran's minimum deal under the hard cap.

Johnson spent parts of three seasons with the Pacers from 2022 to 2025. He appeared in 39 regular-season games and played 246 minutes across that stretch. In 2023-24, he did not start the season on the roster, signed in mid-December, and stayed on after the Pascal Siakam trade through a series of 10-day contracts.

His last contract with Indiana expired June 30, 2025. He sat out 2025-26.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has said Johnson has "great wisdom in the locker room," per East. After the 2025 NBA Finals, Obi Toppin flew to Miami and trained with Johnson for months.

The Chicago Bulls drafted Johnson 16th overall in 2009. Over 16 seasons with 10 teams, he has averaged 7.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 786 regular-season games.

He returns to a roster that went 19-63 last season while Tyrese Haliburton recovered from the Achilles tear he suffered in the final game of the 2025 NBA Finals. Indiana holds media day Monday and opens camp Tuesday. The regular-season opener is Oct. 21 in New Orleans against the Pelicans, with tip-off at 8 p.m. ET.