Lance Stephenson Inks Deal With Indiana Pacers For Remainder Of Season

After spending 33 days on temporary, short-term contracts, Lance Stephenson has signed a contract for the rest of the season with the Indiana Pacers.

On Thursday, the team announced that Stephenson inked a deal through the end of the season — meaning the guard no longer has to sign 10-day deals. He signed four, including two hardship contracts, prior to Thursday.

“I certainly would hope so,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said when asked if the franchise intended to keep Stephenson around after his final 10-day deal expired. The guard was signed for the duration of the 2021-22 campaign the next day.

Stephenson has provided Indiana with a much-needed boost since joining the team at the beginning of 2022. In just his third game with the organization, the quirky guard scored 20 points in the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets. He finished the night with 30 points against a contender — his attacking nature made Indiana’s offense hum that night.

Three days later, Stephenson punished another title contender by dishing out 14 assists against the Utah Jazz. His final stat line that night also contained 16 points, and the blue and gold outscored Utah by 14 with Stephenson in the game. It only took the University of Cincinnati product one week to provide Indiana with a jolt of energy and effectiveness.

“He’s making everyone’s job easier,” Pacers two-time All-Star center Domantas Sabonis said of Stephenson. Sabonis and Stephenson were teammates during the 2017-18 season as well. “He has a swag that goes around that everyone wants to be a part of.”

Even beyond Sabonis, many players have highlighted Stephenson’s personality as something they like. That’s a large part of his appeal to the organization — he injects life and animation into the roster.

Those traits seep to the fanbase as well. It’s been over one month since the 31-year old joined the Pacers, yet there is still a loud cheer every single time he checks into a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana has struggled this season, going just 19-35, but Stephenson has injected a spirit back into the fanbase, and the Pacers need that this year — they rank third-to-last in attendance.

Stephenson has posted averages of 9.1 points and 4.2 assists per game since joining Indiana. Per minute, he is putting up some of the best numbers of his entire career. He has taken the Pacers backup point guard role and will likely have it until other players return from injury, so his numbers could continue to be impressive as the season goes on.

Stephenson’s deal spans just one year, there are no additional seasons or options on the end of his contract. His cap hit on this agreement will be just over $640,000. If the Pacers, and Stephenson, want to stay partnered after this season, they will have to renegotiate a new contract in the offseason.

There were some questions, with the trade deadline looming, concerning whether or not the Pacers would sign Stephenson to a fully guaranteed deal or give him one more hardship contract. But they gave their hardship exception deal to Reggie Perry on Friday.

The route the Pacers, and Stephenson, ultimately went gives the Pacers slightly less flexibility heading into the deadline. But those detriments are extremely marginal, and there is value in simply having Lance locked up for the rest of the season. Plus, after the 10-year veteran risked injury on each of his prior 10-day deals, he earned a stronger commitment. Now, Lance Stephenson and the Indiana Pacers — the franchise that drafted him back in 2010 — are tied together again.