Josiah-Jordan James, a former basketball player for Tennessee is training with NBA

Josiah-Jordan James, a former basketball player for Tennessee is training with NBA

Josiah-Jordan James, a former basketball player for Tennessee, will compete for a roster position in the NBA when he starts his professional career.

Jordan Josiah James has decided to begin his career with the Indiana Pacers.

After being left out of this week’s NBA Draft, the former guard for Tennessee signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers on Friday. The Knoxville News Sentinel broke the story first thing on Friday morning.

An Exhibit 10 contract is essentially an official invitation to practice with the Pacers and try out for a place. It is a one-year agreement with a wage that is the league minimum. James has contractual rights to Indiana under the terms of the Exhibit 10 arrangement; therefore, the Pacers may choose to turn the agreement into a two-way or G-League contract.
Five-star recruit James came from Charleston, S.C., with a lot of hype, and he lived up to it in many respects. He was a stalwart in Tennessee’s lineup for the entirety of his career and was a legendary tough, adaptable, and selfless player. As he moved from point guard to wing to stretch-four power forward and battled a string of injuries, he never quite lived up to the hype in terms of scoring points. Instead, he frequently found other ways to contribute to Rick Barnes and his staff’s strategy, such as leadership, defense, and offensive facilitation.