Quenton Jackson Calls Guaranteed Pacers Contract ‘A Blessing’ After Long Climb

The Indiana Pacers let a July 15 deadline pass without waiving Quenton Jackson, and his $2,584,539 salary for the 2026-27 season became fully guaranteed.

Until that date, only $275,000 of it was locked in. Waiving the 28-year-old guard would have saved Indiana about $2.3 million against the cap and opened a roster spot.

He enters Wednesday's season opener against the New Orleans Pelicans as one of 14 Pacers on standard contracts. T.J. McConnell, the longest-tenured player on the roster, did not appear in any of Indiana's four preseason games.

Getting signed was cool to Jackson. It does not change his job, which is to stay prepared and be ready when his number is called.

"I ain't going to lie. That was a blessing," Jackson said. "I can't even lie. It was a blessing. I can't say I saw it coming even when they surprised me. I didn't see that coming either. I'm not really kind of a surprise kind of guy."

"So all in all it was just a blessing," Jackson continued. "I worked so long to get to here."

Jackson went undrafted out of Texas A&M. He signed with the Washington Wizards and spent time with their G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, before Washington gave him a two-way contract. A stop with the Chicago Bulls on an Exhibit 10 deal came next.

Indiana signed him to a two-way contract in March 2024. He signed two more two-way deals with the Pacers, in July 2024 and July 2025, before the team converted him to a three-year standard contract in February.

Last season, Jackson appeared in 49 games and made 19 starts for a Pacers team that won 19 games, the fewest in franchise history. He averaged 9.1 points and 2.9 assists while shooting 47.0% from the field, 35.6% from 3-point range, and 82.4% at the free throw line.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said Jackson will be expected to play point guard and shooting guard and to be ready at all times as a full-time roster player. When Indiana has gone really small, Jackson has also played some small forward.

"He's improved each year, and he just, he's the kind of guy that we love," Carlisle said. "He's a hard worker. He's early in the gym, one of the last to leave. From a culture standpoint, he's everything that we are trying to be about."

Indiana has not disclosed the reason McConnell sat out. On Oct. 15, Carlisle told reporters the team was "working on it" and hoped McConnell would be ready for the opener.

Fieldhouse Files' Scott Agness listed Jackson behind Tyrese Haliburton at point guard on his opening-night depth chart, with McConnell and Johnny Furphy out. Two-way rookie Braden Smith is also in the mix, and Haliburton has compared Smith to McConnell.

With McConnell out, Jackson's approach is to be an extension of McConnell to some extent, keeping the flow and the pace while more of the ball handling comes from other places.

"Get us in the flow, get us in the offense, make sure everybody get touches," Jackson explained. "And then make sure that energy is still on the floor and make sure we're picking up on defense, too."

Through Indiana's first three preseason games, Jackson had 16 points and 8 assists in 38 minutes. He shot 6-of-12 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range.

The Pelicans' roster includes Bennedict Mathurin, whom Indiana sent to the LA Clippers in the Feb. 5 trade that landed center Ivica Zubac. Mathurin signed with New Orleans in September.

Whether the trash talk Wednesday turns out good-natured or bad-natured, Jackson plans to be there for it.

"I don't really need experience to guard Ben," Jackson said. "It's not really that hard. I just know it every time he catches the ball, just to rock, jab you, drive, spin off you. So I'm there on all of that. So he's going to have to find a different game plan if he thinks he's going to attack me."

"Other than that, that's my dog, man," Jackson added. "I love him. Great competitor, so I'm looking forward to going at him."

Tip-off at Smoothie King Center is set for 8 p.m. ET Wednesday. The Pacers play their home opener Friday against the Dallas Mavericks at 7 p.m. ET.