INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Pacers finalized two more deals for their roster Saturday.

This year’s second-round draft pick Tristen Newton and fellow guard Quenton Jackson both signed two-way contracts with the Blue and Gold — which will allow them to play for both the Pacers and Indiana’s G League team, the Indiana Mad Ants.

Newton comes to Indiana after winning back-to-back national titles with UConn. During the Huskies’ March domination last season, Newton averaged 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 6.2 assists a game.

Jackson played three games for the Pacers late in the season last year. The most game action he’s seen with Indiana so far is the seven minutes he played against the Atlanta Hawks on April 14. Jackson spent the previous season in Washington, appearing in nine games for the Wizards.

The Pacers have been ironing out the details of many deals this postseason. President Kevin Pritchard and his front office signed forward Pascal Siakam to the second-largest contract in franchise history — a four-year, $189.5 million deal. Wednesday, guard Andrew Nembhard agreed to a three-year extension worth $59 million. Nembhard is in Paris playing for Team Canada in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

According to the NBA’s official transaction log, the Indiana Pacers re-signed guard Quenton Jackson to a two-way contract.

Jackson finished the 2023-24 season on a two-way deal with Indiana, and he played in three games for the Pacers after being signed in March. He averaged 0.7 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.7 assists per game.

More of his appearances with the franchise came in the G League with the Indiana Mad Ants. He was only with the club for a month, but he led the team in scoring at 22.3 points per game while adding 4.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per outing. His ability to get to the rim and finish is impressive — he shot 55.6% from the field despite being just okay as a three-point shooter.

Because he popped somewhat, the blue and gold sent him a qualifying offer in June, which made him a restricted free agent. The Pacers had the chance to match offers from other teams, and Jackson could have signed that offer at any time.

On Friday, he re-signed with the Pacers on a two-way deal. Indiana had all three of its two-way slots open prior to the agreement, and they still have a pair available.

A two-way deal will make it easy for Jackson to split time between the Pacers and Mad Ants, should he remain on the contract. He just finished playing in summer league for Indiana, where he averaged 11 points and 4.2 assists per game.

The Pacers now have 16 players under contract including standard deals and two-way agreements.

LAS VEGAS — Tristen Newton had simple hopes for his first summer league: he wanted to leave an impression.

The rookie guard, who was drafted 49th overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA Draft, showed a little bit of everything during his college days. At UConn, where he won two national titles, he was a capable rebounder, strong passer, and effective scorer. At his best, he knocked down threes.

There was prevalent thinking that a player like him could be effective during summer league. And yet, despite his wide-ranging talent in college, it was actually totally different skills that popped for Newton during the tune-up games: his ability to draw fouls.

Newton took 28 free throws in Las Vegas, which topped the Pacers by far. Nobody else on the roster even reached 20. He was one of just two players to average more than 5.5 free throw attempts per game in under 22 minutes per night (Moses Brown of the LA Lakers was the other).

Indiana’s rookie point guard finished summer league with a free throw rate of 70%, far better than his collegiate figure of 46.9%. He made 89.3% of those foul shots, which kept his efficiency afloat.

Newton’s game stood out in that way. His second-best skill was his passing in traffic — he averaged 4.6 assists per game, good for second on the team, and quite a few of them came in tight spaces. As a point guard, that skill will be important.

“Tristen Newton, tremendous [growth] from game one to game five,” Pacers summer league head coach Jannero Pargo said. “Understanding our offense more, playing more confident. Being able to call plays and run our sets and be more comfortable out there.”

Unfortunately for Newton, some of his other skills from his NCAA days didn’t translate to the Vegas heat. In particular, his shot making was a disaster, and that held down his effectiveness.

The rookie guard shot 8/40 from the field across his five games, good for just 20%. He was 4/22 from long range (18.2%) and a not-much-better 4/18 (22.2%) on two-point looks. Shot distance and location didn’t matter — Newton struggled.

Taking 22 threes in five games in solid, and volume transfers more often from summer league than percentage. That’s the bright side for the young guard. But those field goals did not drop, and his ability to create good looks inside the arc didn’t pop.

Newton did grab 3.8 rebounds per game, a fine number for a guard, but he also had 2.8 turnovers per night. At times, he looked rushed and gave up the ball too quickly. He didn’t get all the way to the rim on his drives.

In those ways, Newton needed to be better. His defense was fine enough and he got his hands on a few steals, but the disappointing play finishing really hindered his effectiveness during summer league.

The Pacers liked that Newton was a more established player when they selected him in the draft. His play during summer league shouldn’t deter that thinking — if anything, the context around his summer outings should provide important perspective.

Newton played for a UConn team in 2022-23 that got up threes and had multiple players capable of setting the table for others. He performed well, and the team was great. In the following season, the Huskies dramatically changed their play style. There were fewer outside shots, and Newton’s playmaking burden grew.

He was extremely effective in both systems, which is why he was an All-Big East player and consensus All-American. He can adapt to any team when he gets time within a style and with a coaching staff.

In summer league, there is no time. Newton still hadn’t been drafted one month ago today. He went through a minicamp that was less than a week long, then was thrown into action. It didn’t always look great, though there were successes.

His free throw rate was extremely encouraging, but the shots didn’t fall. His rebounding was effective, yet the turnovers were concerning. Overall, the lack of shot making made the experience a negative.

But it is still reasonable to believe that Newton can be a capable do-it-all floor general when given time and space to figure out how his shots will come and what his teammates do well. He did it twice at UConn, and he can do it again in the NBA. He very quickly left an impression on his new teammates.

“Trsiten and Johnny [Furphy] are great guys,” Pacers rookie forward Enrique Freeman said. Newton didn’t get off to an awesome start, but he should have little trouble being more effective in future settings.