CLEVELAND, OHIO – APRIL 05: Kobe Brown #24 celebrates with Taelon Peter #4 of the Indiana Pacers during the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on April 05, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Pacers 117-108. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
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INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers have agreed to bring back forward Kobe Brown on a two-way contract. Brown spent the last two months of the 2025-26 season with the Pacers after being traded to the franchise as a part of the deal that netted Indiana Ivica Zubac.
Brown is eligible for a two-way deal since he has less than four years of NBA service time. He’s only been a pro for three years and had the fourth season of his rookie-scale contract declined by the Los Angeles Clippers last summer, which made him a free agent this summer.
The Pacers were limited in what they could pay Brown, but they don’t need to worry about salary cap constraints in this instance. Two-way deals come with no cap hit for teams and net players a salary that is half of the zero years of service minimum. For Brown, that’s about $675k in earnings.
Because Brown will reach four years of service during this contract, his deal can only be for one year in length by rule. He will be a free agent in 2027, but this deal will give the Pacers full Bird Rights on Brown’s contract next offseason if he makes it through the full campaign with Indiana.
Why did the Pacers sign Kobe Brown?
Brown averaged 9.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Pacers last season, big improvements over this production with the Clippers. He found his footing in Indiana, something that he attributed to the team’s method of play.
“Just the style of play. The ball never stops moving… I just feel like it’s hard not to fit in here. Everything’s random, nothing’s scripted,” Brown said of the Pacers and how he meshed with their up-tempo style.
Few players of Brown’s size grabbed more rebounds than he did. His nose for the ball was a valuable skill for the Pacers, and the team now gets that back via a two-way contract.
A two-way deal will make it so Brown can easily split time between the Pacers and their G League affiliate, the Noblesville Boom. As a 2023 first-round pick, Brown has room to grow and G League opportunities will give him important development time. But he also flashed real skill in the NBA last season and could be of use to Indiana in a pinch.
While Brown is inexperienced, he turns 27 during the upcoming season. That’s on the older side when compared to the typical player on a two-way pact, but he’ll be more valuable in his NBA minutes than the typical two-way signee. It’s a tradeoff that the Pacers, who hope to win often this season, will be ok with.
Teams are permitted to have three players on two-way deals at a time. Once Brown signs his deal, the Pacers will have three with Brown, Taelon Peter, and Ethan Thompson. They also plan to sign rookie Braden Smith to a two-way pact and have a two-way qualifying offer out for wing Jalen Slawson. In the coming weeks of summer league and beyond, Indiana will have many decisions to make regarding their two-way deals.
The Pacers now have 19 players in their orbit this offseason, and 17 will be signed to contracts once Brown and the recently-signed Larry Nance officially put pen to paper. The highest number of players a team can roster in the offseason is 21.