Indiana Pacers: Oshae Brissett’s team option is picked up for 2022-23

The Indiana Pacers brought in Oshae Brissett under the helm of Nate Bjorkgren in his one-year coaching stint with the team. Indiana announced today that it will exercise its team option on Brissett’s contract for the 2022-23 season.

Oshae Brissett will remain with the Indiana Pacers through this upcoming season.

Brissett signed a 2-year, $2,459,046 contract with the Indiana Pacers in 2020-21 and will now be an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-23 season since the team picked up his option. He will make $1.8M in 2022-23 with that amount fully guaranteed on Jan.10, 2023.

Brissett averaged 9.1 points a game and 5.3 rebounds in his 67 appearances for the Indiana Pacers during the 2021-22 NBA season. At just 23 years old, he brings solid production and athleticism and fills a need the Pacers have which is depth on the wing.

The team decided to pick his option up means now that he is on the roster for next season without a large sum of cash being used (only $1.8M). On the flip of that coin is the fact that Brissett will now be an unrestricted free agent when the season is over if a new deal is not worked out of some sort.

Brissett has been open about liking Indiana and the team, which will be put to the test after their next venture on the hardwood. He will be available to hear offers from interested teams and if a better fit is out there he might take said offer. The Pacers can’t match any offers to keep the 23-year-old since he will be unrestricted, so the risk is higher, and it is on Oshae to earn those opposing offers.

He seems excited to be back in Indiana after seeing the news that the Pacers picked up his team option:

Indiana can sign him to an extension next spring or wait for free agency if something can’t be agreed to and try to give him a new deal then. If not, Oshae can walk and the Pacers get nothing in return. This seems to be the less likely option to occur but is still possible now that the team decided to go this route.

Oshae has been fun to watch grow within this roster and its many changes. He has seen many different roles and wasn’t playing at the beginning of the 2021-22 season under Rick Carlise. That changed quickly. Brissett is a valuable young talent in this Pacers core of players and there is no question that the Pacers should try to keep him around after this upcoming season.