The 2022-23 NBA regular season is just roughly two weeks away. While the Indiana Pacers still have some decisions to make on their personnel during the preseason, the 15-man roster should be pretty firm anytime soon, barring any surprise move.
Continuity is important even for non-contending teams like the Pacers, but it is not as emphatic with those in the title chase. Hence, one can expect the roster to look different to some degree when the upcoming campaign ends in the following year.
Without further ado, here are three players who are unlikely to finish the entire 2022-23 season with the Blue and Gold.
3 players unlikely to finish the 2022-23 season with the Indiana Pacers
1. Goga Bitadze
All of a sudden, Goga Bitadze is entering his fourth season in the league, which is pretty surprising when taking into account the jarring disproportion of his number of seasons to his actual court time—collectively.
In his first season without Domantas Sabonis, the Georgian center may finally be in line for a massive increase in minutes. However, that is far from certain, as Myles Turner, Jalen Smith, and Isaiah Jackson are all expected to get the bulk of minutes at the big man positions. Heck, even veteran newcomer Daniel Theis may be a better option to man the backup slot with the team needing a veteran presence on the floor.
If Bitadze fails to assert himself from day one and woo the coaching staff to give him more court time, the young center may find himself donning new colorways later in the season to top off a rather forgettable Pacers tenure so far.