Indiana Pacers Sign Veteran Guard; Waive Delon Wright After Scary Head Injury

The Indiana Pacers suffered a big loss in the NBA Finals, both in defeat and on the injury front, as superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton went down, likely to miss the entirety of the 2025–26 regular season. As a result, the team needed to fill a role for depth, with Andrew Nembhard set to officially take over as the starting point guard this season.

However, they added some veteran depth off the bench too, recently signing former New York Knicks guard Delon Wright to play a role off the bench. Unfortunately, he suffered a brutal head injury after a collision on the ice, and now, they've decided to waive him to add a different former Knicks veteran.

On Thursday, the team made it official as they inked veteran Cameron Payne to a one-year deal after he played a solid role for the Knicks during the 2025 playoffs. Last season, the 31-year-old played in 72 games for New York, averaging 7 points and 3 assists in 15 minutes of action, with the veteran also shooting 38% from beyond the arc.

With the Pacers deep at guard with Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell, and Ben Sheppard, Payne may not get big minutes, but this remains an opportunity for him at the top level. Whether Payne plays a lot or not, only time will tell, but given what he brings to the table as an energy player off the bench, he's a great depth pickup for the Pacers ahead of the new season.