PACERS ADD KAM JONES, TAELON PETER IN 2025 NBA DRAFT
Just days after their magical 2024-25 season ended, the Pacers were back at work on Thursday night preparing for next season. While Indiana didn’t have a pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday, the Blue & Gold added a pair of players in the second round on Thursday.
The Pacers agreed in principle to acquire the draft rights to Marquette guard Kam Jones, the 38th pick in the draft, from the San Antonio Spurs in a trade that is not yet finalized.
Jones, a 6-3 guard, spent four seasons at Marquette. He averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists as a senior in 2024-25. A 23-year-old from Memphis, Jones was a unanimous All-Big East first team selection and a consensus second-team All-American last season playing for head coach Shaka Smart.
He was the second player in Marquette history to reach 2,000 career points, tallying 2,044 points during his four seasons with the Golden Eagles. Jones shot 47.5 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from 3-point range over his four-year career. After playing more off the ball earlier in his career, he moved to point guard as a senior and finished seventh in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.17).
“I’m just ready to get to Naptown and get to work,” Jones told ESPN’s Monica McNutt after being drafted.
With the 54th overall pick, the Pacers selected Taelon Peter, a 6-4 guard out of Liberty University. Peter averaged 13.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last season for the Flames, shooting 57.8 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from 3-point range. He was the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year and a third-team all-conference selection for the 2024-25 season, when he led the nation in true shooting percentage in 2024-25 (.7240).
Peter transferred to Liberty after three years at Division II Arkansas Tech, where he averaged 15.0 points over 88 career games. A native of Russellville, Ark., Peter began his college career at Tennessee Tech in 2020-21.
INDIANA SIGNS THREE UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS
The Pacers signed UConn center Samson Johnson, East Carolina guard RJ Felton and Creighton guard Steven Ashworth to undrafted free agent contracts on Thursday.
