The Indiana Pacers aren’t resting on their laurels after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals especially after seeing the New York Knicks upgrade their roster significantly with the completion of their Villanova reunion as Mikal Bridges was acquired for a boatload of draft capital.
Brian Windhorst talked about the Pacers mindset heading into the off-season on Pat McAfee’s ESPN show with Tyrese Haliburton live in studio.
“The Pacers are working,” Windhorst said. “The Pacers are working. I’m not saying necessarily tonight but they’re trying to get Tyrese some help. They aren’t done working. They see opportunity. They’re on the prowl.”
Haliburton’s reaction which was cut to briefly during Windy’s statement was priceless.
While tonight’s draft may not be the night for the Pacers to improve their roster as they sit without a first-round pick for the first time since 2020–ironically as they now have four lottery picks from that draft class on the roster. Windy’s statement shouldn’t be too surprising as Pacers General Manager Chad Buchanan has stated that the team will be opportunistic about looking to add guys but that they are also comfortable with running it back with this young roster and banking on internal development.
“There’s a couple of different paths you could take,” Buchanan said on Setting the Pace in a recent podcast interview. “You can continue to develop this group, which we like that path. Or if there’s the right opportunity out there for the right player, we’re always going to be looking for that. At the end of the day, we feel good about what we have on our roster right now. And it’s going to have to be a really difference-making player to make a move and change up what we got.”
Of course every team is looking for these opportunities and before you get too excited about the possibilities of perhaps the Pacers stealing OG Anunoby away from the Knicks or perhaps seeking a reunion with Paul George. Windhorst did put a bit of a damper on thinking it would be something that big.
“They see these Eastern teams getting better,” Windhorst said. “They have assets at their disposal. I think that they are active from what I understand. They are looking to upgrade. … I do think the Pacers are interested in some names. I don’t think it’s going to be an All-Star level player but Chad Buchanan and those guys have done a great job.”
Of course, Anunoby hasn’t been an All-Star … so the limitations that the Pacers have with the salary cap can be damned!
In all seriousness, there’s not an easy path for the Pacers to acquire another large salary without giving up some valuable pieces to the team as they are over the salary cap and would have to match salaries in trades. A deal when trying to acquire a player with a decent-sized salary would almost have to involve Myles Turner or at minimum Aaron Nesmith and the assets (beyond draft capital) on the roster Windy alluded to are enticing prospects like Bennedict Mathurin and/or Jarace Walker that the Pacers remain high on and won’t be letting go of easily.
Windhorst also called T.J. McConnell “pretty much untouchable” which does further limit the Pacers options in terms of salary matching as they look to keep the annoying pest of a point guard in an Indiana uniform with a long-term extension.
With Windy mentioning that the Pacers see opportunity, you wonder if that means the Nets roster as they still have talented role players like Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith that could be dealt as they look to tank freely now that they’re in control of their own draft picks.
Maybe they try to pursue one of the Pelicans wings Herb Jones or Trey Murphy III. Perhaps they’ll pursue yet another 2020 lottery pick in the Wizards Deni Avdija (has now been dealt to the Blazers)? Maybe they find a way to acquire an All Star caliber player and surprise even the most seasoned NBA reporters. It’s not easy to come up with a trade that makes the Pacers significantly better and would be a better option than betting on internal growth from their young roster. We shall see what the Pacers are able to do in the next few weeks to keep up in the arms race of the East, Windy’s certainly not writing them off as a 1-year wonder.
“Listen, I’m going to make my hotel reservations for Indy 500 weekend right now,” Windhorst said in reference to the struggle many NBA media members found themselves in as they scrambled for accommodations during the conference finals with the 500 also happening.
“I like that, Windy,” Haliburton said in response.
Haliburton also talked with Arkansas coach John Calipari about how the coach is probably why he didn’t go to Wisconsin (his friend Tyler Herro decommitted to go to Kentucky) and how good of a guy Isaiah Jackson is. Haliburton also discussed Team USA’s losses the previous year on the World Cup and looking ahead to the Olympics, about how much he enjoys the Pacers roster and the group of guys they have, and his fashion aspirations and tunnel fits.
Haliburton also said he’s got all the tampering evidence needed for the Knicks acquisition of Mikal Bridges if the NBA ever wants it because of a group chat with Bridges, Brunson, and Hart they started during Team USA last off-season.
iPacers 
[…] Brunson gets credit for defending the Garden here from the announcers unlike in Game 7. He provided an update that his hand is okay. Haliburton and Brunson grew close as teammates through the World Cup last summer. Haliburton has noted the group chat between these two, Josh Hart, and new Knick Mikal Bridges features plenty of tampering evidence if anyone ever asks for it. […]
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