D-League stalwart Ron Howard will be in training camp with the Pacers, a source tells Scott Schroeder of NBCSports.com. The 30-year-old swingman has earned the nickname "Mr. Mad Ant" over his unusually long tenure with the club, which has spanned six seasons. He was in summer league last month with the D-League Select Team, and he's taken part in three previous NBA training camps, but he's yet to formally make it to the NBA.
The 6'5" Howard was a D-League All-Star last season as he helped the Mad Ants to their first playoff appearance in his time with the team. He averaged 19.1 points per game in 2012/13, and his PER of 18.2 was the best mark of his D-League career. He added a passing element to his game last year as he took on some point guard duties, bumping his assists per contest to a career-high 4.7 from the 2.7 he averaged in 2011/12.
Howard would represent one of the league's most unlikely success stories if he makes the regular season roster for Indiana, having first joined the Mad Ants through an open tryout after he went undrafted out of Valparaiso in 2006. The Pacers have 13 players on guaranteed contracts, but they have no one other than Howard on a non-guaranteed deal at this point, so it looks like he has a decent chance of making it to opening night.