Bennedict Mathurin and Tyrese Haliburton will look to take another step in their development and help the Pacers return to the playoffs.
Buried inside an 11th place finish in the East and Indiana’s third straight playoff miss were some reasons for optimism and stretches of traction. The Pacers were a .500 team (28-28) when point guard Tyrese Haliburton was on the floor, making teammates better and providing a peek into a brighter future.
What’s new?
- The Pacers planted their flag with Haliburton, signing him to a five-year contract extension worth up to $260 million as their centerpiece for winning, on the court and in the community.
- OK, so it probably is an overpay, but luring versatile Bruce Brown off the Denver Nuggets’ championship squad was a big get for Indiana, adding a solid two-way guy with a pricey but short-term salary.
- Drafting Jarace Walker out of Houston and acquiring Obi Toppin suddenly gives the Pacers two candidates to further fill a power forward spot that had been one of the team’s biggest needs.
How far can the Pacers go?
Fans, the team’s brass, coach Rick Carlisle and his staff, and most important, the players expect to have a better season. That means pushing toward 40 victories and beyond, certainly into contention for a Play-In role. Indiana ranked only 21st offensively and 26th defensively last season, but it led the NBA in fast-break points (18.1) and wants to run even more.
1 player who must take a leap
Bennedict Mathurin. The explosive wing from Quebec jumped out to a quick lead in Kia Rookie of the Year attention and earned first-team All-Rookie status, finishing fourth in ROY balloting. He did it from an unusual spot, too, serving as Indiana’s sixth man to thrive against foes’ secondary lineups. His shooting has room for improvement, because he did his best work attacking the rim or getting to the foul line.
In-Season Tournament
The Pacers are in East Group A. Here’s a refresher on how the In-Season Tournament works.
Upcoming free agents
The Pacers have eight players who will be free agents in 2024.
- Buddy Hield
- Obi Toppin
- Jordan Nwora
- Bruce Brown (team option)
- Jalen Smith
- Isaiah Wong (two-way player)
- Oscar Tshiebwe (two-way player)
- Kendall Brown (two-way player)
Hield tops this list of potential movers because he and the Pacers failed to negotiate an extension, with the team shifting into a trade mode sooner or trade-deadline later. The veteran wing has value to Indiana but to plenty of others after averaging 16.8 points with 42.5% 3-point shooting last season. Nesmith, Toppin and Nwora all were 2020 draftees, which has them on the brink of shopping for new teams next summer – Nesmith made the best case for an extension with his positive contributions at both ends.
Indiana’s full roster can be found here.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.
