In loss to Grizzlies, the Pacers witness the rewards of a rebuild

The Indiana Pacers have a realistic way to be relevant again in the near future

Ordinal numbers be damned, while Indiana is late to the break-up-the-core-with-the-limited-ceiling party, they are finally here. Now having a foundational piece to build around in Tyrese Haliburton, this is the best time for the Pacers to fully commit themselves to the plotting stage and build their way up from the ground.

With better-than-before chances at a top pick in the upcoming draft, the Pacers can easily turn the franchise around with a little stroke from lady luck. From there, the team could look at the Grizzlies and see what pushed them to the current juggernaut they are. By investing in young prospects, quickly moving away from commodities that hinder the youth movement, and chasing culture movers, an organic path to being formidable is pretty realistic.

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Significant contributors like Malcolm Brogdon, TJ Warren, Buddy Hield, and TJ McConnell are clear win-now players who could help the Pacers carve out wins, but is the trade-off between their contributions and the chance to foster younger prospects while accruing assets in return for them worth it? This is just one of the questions that the team has to answer moving forward.

Fans may be in for a not-so-pretty ride in the near future, especially with the East still jampacked by veteran contenders up top, but like the Grizzlies before them, this is actually a good chance to turn their struggles into gold.

However, to do that, the Indiana Pacers have to double down on their youth movement and realize that in the NBA, sometimes, the way to move forward is to take a step or two back, and wait for the perfect chance to strike the iron once more.