By JOHN MOOREHOUSE
The tenure of Mac McClung with the Indiana Pacers proved to be brief.
Nine days after McClung signed with last season’s NBA runners-up, the Pacers organization waived him on Wednesday.
McClung’s deal with the Pacers was his first multiyear standard NBA contract, but the deal was non-guaranteed. To fill that spot on the active roster, Indiana signed Monte Morris, an eight-year NBA veteran who originally signed with the Pacers back in September but got cut during training camp after suffering a calf injury.
McClung made three appearances with the Pacers — the most for him with a single NBA team in the same season. He was on the roster for five games, but did not appear in two of the past five and logged just two minutes of playing time in his final Indiana appearance. McClung averaged 6.3 points and 1.3 rebounds for Indiana, logging a negative plus/minus in each of the three contests.
From the moment McClung was waived, a 48-hour window opened where other NBA teams have the opportunity to claim him. If multiple teams claim him, the one with the lowest current winning percentage has priority. It’s more likely, however, that McClung goes into free agency, which means he could get picked up by another NBA team or end up back in the G League, where he was the MVP in 2024 and a first-team all-league pick in each of the past two seasons. An international pro team also could sign McClung, although that’s a route he has yet to take since entering the pro ranks.
In addition to winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in each of the past three years — the first player ever to three-peat in that event — McClung ended a storied prep career at Gate City High by leading the Blue Devils to their first and only state title and breaking the Virginia High School League single-season and career scoring records.