The Pacers traded into the second round of the 2025 draft to get backcourt depth. Now they’re trading the guard they got in that draft to get into the second round of the 2026 draft to get another point guard
The Pacers traded Kam Jones — taken with the No. 38 pick in the 2025 draft after the Pacers acquired that selection from the Spurs — to the Bulls along with 2028 and 2030 pick swaps for the No. 38 pick in the 2026 draft and used that selection to take Purdue All-American, Westfield High School star and 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball Braden Smith. Smith led Purdue to Sweet 16s in each of his last three seasons and finished with an NCAA Division I record 1,103 career assists, 8.8 per game.
The Bulls and Pacers will swap second round picks in 2028 and 2030 as part of the deal, a league source told the IndyStar.
According to another league source, Smith has agreed to sign a two-way contract with the Pacers, which is significant for the Pacers’ finances because two-way deals don’t count against teams’ salary cap figures. Jones was due around $2.1 million for 2026-27, so the Pacers have both that extra money and an additional roster spot to use in free agency. Guards Ethan Thompson and Taelon Peter and forward Jalen Slawson were under two-way contracts in 2025-26 and the Pacers have not made any decisions about which players they’ll be moving on from. Being on a two-way deal means Smith will truly get a homecoming with his games with the Noblesville Boom closer to his home in Hamilton County.
The Pacers had hoped that Jones would be a fixture as a bench guard after he earned second-team All-America honors as a senior at Marquette, but a lower back injury derailed the early portion of his rookie season and the Pacers didn’t see as much progress as they would have liked once he got on the floor. Jones averaged 4.4 points per game as a rookie on 40.2% shooting including 29.3% from 3-point range. He averaged 3.2 assists per game against 1.0 turnovers.
In Smith, the Pacers get the shortest and lightest player who was invited to the NBA Draft Combine at 5-10 1/4, 166 pounds. However, they’ve seen in T.J. McConnell that undersized point guards can be effective, especially in a bench role. With McConnell now 34 years old, the Pacers have to expect they’ll need to replace him in the rotation at some point in the coming seasons and it’s still helpful to have four point guard options on the roster. McConnell’s contract is fully guaranteed through 2026-27, but partially guaranteed in 2027-28 and he has a club option for 2028-29.
Like McConnell, Smith is limited in the defensive matchups he can take, but he can take ball-handlers at the point of attack and he’s one of the best distributors in college basketball history. He can also get to the rim and shoot from outside so Smith can also brings points as a depth piece in the backcourt. He averaged 15.8 points per game as a junior and 14.3 per game as a senior, earning first-team All-America honors in each of those two seasons. He hit 38.5% of his 3-pointers at Purdue, knocking down a total of 241 in four seasons.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Acquiring Braden Smith for Kam Jones in NBA Draft strengthens Pacers’ backcourt
Reporting by Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Dustin Dopirak, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
