Justin Anderson Returns To The Indiana Pacers On Another 10-Day Contract

The Indiana Pacers have re-signed forward Justin Anderson to a 10-day contract. The deal was made official on Monday afternoon.

Anderson, who has spent time with the Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers this season on a variety of different contracts, provides Indiana with much-needed wing depth. Chris Duarte and T.J. Warren have each been out for the last two weeks with injuries, and Oshae Brissett is dealing with a sore back. Anderson gives the blue and gold a body to stick in one of the frontcourt positions while those players recover.

And, in the short term, Anderson gives the Pacers enough healthy players to field a team. NBA franchises are required to have eight active players for each game, and the Pacers would only have had seven guys healthy enough to play Monday night against Atlanta had they not signed Anderson. Head coach Rick Carlisle confirmed that part of the motivation to re-sign the 28-year old was that he was needed for the franchise to field a team.

“We were uncertain of [Pacers center Goga Bitadze’s] status earlier in the day. So we had to make sure we had the minimum eight guys covered should it have happened that Goga was unavailable,” Carlisle shared of signing Anderson before the Pacers took on the Hawks.

But the main reason Indiana kept Anderson around is that he has given the squad decent wing minutes, which the team has been lacking. During the recent 10-day period he spent with the team, Anderson averaged 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game across five games. He started four times and scored 18 points in a game twice.

The defensive end is where Anderson shined for Carlisle’s team. His stocky frame and quick feet allowed him to credibly guard multiple positions, and his defensive positioning was solid. Indiana went 2-3 during Anderson’s most recent 10-day deal.

“He’s a good player,” Carlisle said of Anderson. Carlisle was Anderson’s coach for his first season-and-a-half in Dallas. “He earned the opportunity to come with us that second time with his play,” he added, citing Anderson’s terrific G League stats.

With the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Indiana’s G League affiliate team, Anderson dominated on offense and scored nearly 28 points per game. Just before signing with the Pacers earlier in March, he was named G League player of the week. His strong play in Fort Wayne didn’t go unnoticed.

Now, the Pacers will hope that play carries over to the NBA court. The franchise is eliminated from this season’s playoff race, so the rest of this campaign is about evaluating the talent and fit of various guys on the roster. Grabbing Anderson, the only healthy wing on the team, will help Pacers’ decision makers see how various members of the young core gel with a brusing wing type.

“The guy, on a 10-day, has been starting for us. You talk about great opportunities,” Carlisle said of Anderson. “He’s done some good things.”

Anderson’s 10-day deal will run through April 6, and the blue and gold will play five games in that span. Once the contract expires, the Pacers can opt to sign Anderson for the rest of the season or leave his roster spot open for a different move. At that time, there will only be four more days and two games left in the Pacers season.

Anderson was out of the league in 2020-21 due to an injury, so he will hope to prove himself during the 10-day span. The Pacers, who are looking to find any talent in a lost season, will hope he proves himself too. If so, perhaps Anderson could be a piece of this Indiana team going forward. Much of that will be determind in the next 10 days.