Indiana Pacers Sign Reggie Perry To 10-Day Hardship Contract

The Indiana Pacers announced on Friday that they are signing interior forward Reggie Perry to a 10-day contract.

The contract will be allowed under the NBA’s hardship exception rules since the Pacers currently have one player, center Domantas Sabonis, in COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Perry, a 21-year old big who was drafted in 2020, spent some time with the Trail Blazers earlier this season. In two games with Portland, he averaged 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. He provided size off the bench.

That’s what the Pacers will need from him, too. Currently, the Pacers have no healthy bigs — Sabonis is in health and safety protocols while Myles Turner, Isaiah Jackson, and Goga Bitadze all are dealing with injuries. Indiana didn’t have any active players taller than 6-foot-7-inches for their game against Orlando earlier this week, so they needed size and a post presence to soak up minutes.

“Our need for a big short-term motivated us to bring him on board,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Perry on Friday just before his team took on the Chicago Bulls. “He’ll be in uniform and will likely get some minutes tonight.”

Perry, by nature of being signed to a hardship exception contract, will not count against the salary cap for Indiana. That’s helpful for a team so close to the luxury tax with the trade deadline approaching.

Regardless of his salary cap impact, though, the Pacers will need Perry to have an influence in the paint until Sabonis returns. Without any centers against the Magic, the blue and gold conceded 60 points in the paint and struggled to execute pick-and-rolls. Any post presence with good frontcourt instincts will give the Pacers a short-term boost.

“We didn’t get many rolls to the rims tonight,” Pacers forward Torrey Craig said of his team’s struggles against the Magic. Craig, who usually plays on the perimeter, spent much of the game at center with so many injuries hitting the Pacers.

Perry can, ideally, fill that gap. He’s averaging 18.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in the G League this season — the Pacers will hope he can give them a fraction of that production during his 10-day stint with the team.

“He’s a good looking prospect. He had some very good games in the G League,” Carlisle said of Perry.

Perry played for the Brooklyn Nets during the 2020-21 season. During that campaign, he play in four games alongside current Pacers guard Caris LeVert. Brooklyn outscored their opponents by four points in the limited minutes that the two shared the court during that span.

Any of that chemistry and familiarity re-emerging on the Pacers would be the cherry on top of a hardship signing. But really, all Indiana needs is for Perry to fill a few emergency big man minutes while other centers are on the shelf. He should be able to provide his new team required skills in his small role.