INDIANAPOLIS — Tony Bradley initially joined the Pacers on a 10-day contract in March, filling the role of the third center on the depth chart that Indiana had struggled for so long to find. He ended up staying on the roster for more than 10 months, but the Pacers waived him yesterday just five days before the Jan. 10 deadline when his salary would’ve been guaranteed for the rest of the season.
Bradley averaged just 10.7 minutes per game in 2025-26 after averaging 8.1 minutes per game last season. His contributions to the Pacers were simple but impactful. He wasn’t asked to do much on offense, but the 27-year-old, 6-10, 248-pounder was often brought in to face more powerfully built centers to keep them away from the glass. He made life difficult on New York’s Mitchell Robinson in the Eastern Conference Finals and Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein in the NBA Finals. Bradley averaged 13.4 rebounds per 36 minutes last season and 8.8 per 36 minutes this season. He made 64.4% of his field goal attempts last season and 56.3% this year, averaging 4.4 points per game in 2024-25 and 3.9 per game in 2025-26.
Bradley has spent all season on a non-guaranteed contract but has maintained his spot while the Pacers have waived others because he’s continued to execute his assignment. His roster spot was put into peril, however, when second-string center Isaiah Jackson suffered a concussion on Dec. 22 in a game against the Celtics. He hasn’t yet returned. The Pacers signed center Micah Potter to a non-guaranteed contract and he’s been effective in his role, averaging 8.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in his first six games, starting at center in the last two games. With Potter and Bradley facing a Jan. 10 deadline for their salaries to be guaranteed, the Pacers apparently decided they didn’t want to pay four centers for the rest of the season and elected to go with Potter.
Bradley’s departure gives the Pacers an open roster spot and it’s not immediately clear what they’ll do with it. They also could qualify for another hardship exception soon with four players — All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, forward Obi Toppin, guard Bennedict Mathurin and Jackson — out with injuries. If Mathurin and Jackson are each expected to miss at least two more weeks, they could qualify for a hardship once Mathurin misses his third consecutive game.
Dustin Dopirak covers the Pacers all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Pacers Insider newsletter.