Kendall Brown leaves questions to be answered about Indiana Pacers roster after summer league

LAS VEGAS — Kendall Brown was one of the more important players for the Indiana Pacers to monitor during summer league play, but his performances left more questions than answers.

The 21-year old wing is entering his third NBA season after being drafted by the Pacers in 2022. Back in March, he signed a new three-year contract with the blue and gold, though it is non-guaranteed for the upcoming season (many of the details were reported here in Pacers On SI). If Brown is still on the roster come opening night, $250k of his agreement becomes guaranteed.

That’s why summer league was important for Brown — he had a chance to prove that he should stick with Indiana into the regular season. Given the team’s proximity to the luxury tax for the 2024-25 league year, any wasted roster space or contracts are a hindrance. The front office needs to be certain in their moves.

“Just that I can do everything. Just my ability to pass, score, play defense,” Brown said when discussing what he hoped to show during summer league play. “Just run. My athleticism.”

Brown’s play in summer sessions did little to provide clarity about his future. The Baylor product averaged 9.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while making 41.5% of his shots. At his best, he showed growth with his slashing ability. During his first summer league outing, he lived at the foul line and was efficient.

But when there were multiple bodies in the lane or there was less space to operate, Brown struggled. He coughed up more turnovers than he had assists, a disappointing outcome for a player who hoped to show passing improvement. He didn’t finish plays well despite being able to jump out of the gym. After his first outing, things were rough.

Across his last four performances, Brown averaged 7.3 points per game and knocked down just 36.7% of his shot attempts. He made one three in total during that stretch. His first outing can’t be overlooked — it was impressive and contained vital skills. But the young wing needed to be better and more consistent throughout summer league than he actually was.

“Just being able to attack, and then them cutting me off, and me being able to change direction and spin or get down hill. Just being able to finish,” Brown said after that first game of how he was hoping to combine his athleticism with ball skills. “I feel like that’s what I’m really good at. I can finish a lot of different ways.”

That never all clicked. The Minnesota native was solid in the second half of a win over the Phoenix Suns, but he didn’t put together another complete performance. Despite having unbelievable athletic tools, Brown didn’t stand out as much as other third-year players.

“Just still showing my athleticism, my ability to pass, make my teammates better,” Brown said of his summer league hopes. He wanted to show that he’s still getting better.

Brown wasn’t appreciably better than he was in summer league back in 2023, where he scored slightly less but was far more efficient and pulled in more rebounds. He was coming off of any injury last year, though, so he was asked to do less. His assists numbers and free throw rate did climb significantly from year to year.

All together, Brown’s play during the five games in Las Vegas leaves questions about his contract status heading into training camp. He isn’t owed any money until opening night, so there is little reason for the Pacers to rush into any decision. But a strong summer league could have given Indiana proof that the young wing was still ascending heading into 2024-25.

Instead, the front office now has to decide if it is worth using a roster spot, and financial resources, on a forward with athleticism that may not be ready to contribute for another year. Brown would be behind Jarace Walker and Johnny Furphy in any hypothetical rotation, so minutes could be hard to come by anyway.

The Pacers don’t have to decide on Brown’s future right now. Waiving him today would be an early choice. Instead, they get to training camp and see how Brown looks before the season begins. In that setting, he will be playing in his role instead of a more challenging one on a summer squad with limited shot creation.

Preseason games could matter, too, and Brown will have to produce. He may have had some wiggle room to struggle or look stagnant in those outings if he had a dominant summer league. But instead, the young forward came up short and still needs to show he has added skill.

Indiana could opt to move Brown’s contract guarantee date and pay him on a prorated basis when the season starts, but his guaranteed money number is so low that such a move has little benefit. There is no advantage to moving on from the young forward now, either, so Brown’s unimpressive summer league has left the blue and gold in their current reality where the best option is to wait.

Financial flexibility could matter for Indiana this season. Brown has to prove he is more valuable than that, and after a down summer league, he is running out of time to do it.