We are not even into training camp and the Indiana Pacers have already been given two major pieces of news. T.J. Warren and Edmond Sumner are both out indefinitely following injury updates this week with Sumner’s season likely coming to an end.
The past few seasons have been ruined by injuries in Indiana. The franchise’s top players have dealt with an assortment of injuries dating back to the Paul George incident – though we could even argue the Danny Granger era was just as heartbreaking. It seems as if things will never actually get any better for the Pacers.
Can the Indiana Pacers catch a break for once?
After missing basically all of last season with a foot injury, it appeared as if T.J. Warren would be set to return at the start of this season to help the Pacers get back on track. He is entering the final year of his deal with a chance to prove himself as one of the league’s top scorers in an offense that will surround him with scoring threats.
His injury last season forced the Pacers to find replacements within the available roster until Oshae Brissett made some noise at the end of the year. Warren’s absence was clearly felt when Indiana struggled to finish off games and wound up missing the playoffs as a result. Now the team is heading down the same path.
If Warren cannot return for a good chunk of the regular season, which is a possibility, the Pacers have no shot at competing for anything real this season. He is far too important for this team to be out for another long stretch.
Depth has always been a positive for this Pacers team, especially this summer. They were looking like a team with way more bodies than the rotation would allow. Some guys would be left out of the usual rotation despite being more than capable of contributing.
However, key bench contributor Edmond Sumner is likely going to miss the entire 2021-22 season after tearing his Achilles earlier this week. Sumner was coming off the best season of his career and seemed like the leader to be the backup to Caris LeVert this season.
Ed has already been through a lot in his young NBA career. Injuries slowed down his start and coaching changes have forced him to earn his minutes in the limited action he saw with each new staff. Finally, with Nate Bjorkgren at the helm, he found a way to stick and even be a reliable starter when needed.
These two injuries are just killers for the Pacers heading into the new season. Warren and Sumner are two of the team’s best perimeter defenders, an area the team struggled with last season. That is not going to get much better with both of them missing a good portion of the season, which will once again put a lot of strain on Myles Turner under the basket.
The best step to follow these bits of news is to trade for a wing defender with whatever depth the Pacers have left but that seems unlikely for Indiana. They have been hesitant on trading one of their bigs up to this point and I do not see that changing in the coming weeks. This is setting up to be another disappointing season in Indiana.
Obviously, these injuries are saddening and we wish nothing but the best for the players in their recovery. Warren’s future is up in the air and he could very well return before the season begins but this is a tricky situation to monitor. For Sumner, his career was finally starting to transform and now he is shelved for his contract season.
When will the basketball gods do the Indiana Pacers a favor?