With the Indiana Pacers having made big strides in their first full year of a rebuild bannered the current core, the reasonable expectation is for them to take a more modest approach to team-building and ride the wave of organic, in-house growth en route to potential contention. This is so much the anticipation that we’ve even hoisted up the notion that the franchise’s recurrent trade candidate could sit this summer out.
However, it seems like Indiana’s front office will definitely not be running conservatively in the upcoming offseason, turning in a pleasant surprise for fans that have long wished for the team to be much more boisterous in attempting to snag a marquee player or two.
Pacers president suggests an “all-in” approach this offseason after latest remarks
During the team’s end-of-season presser, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard dished on how the front office intends to approach an offseason expected to be quite the eventful one considering the team’s draft assets and ample cap space.
"I think we’ll be pretty aggressive in the market place. We made some big offers in the trade deadline. Quite frankly, I’m a little itchy. We have this unique player in Tyrese who has maybe put us way ahead of schedule."
Pritchard’s remarks certainly come off as mildly shocking. After all, despite Indiana coursing through the season with ceaseless trade rumors on autopilot, no major trades involving the franchise occurred. Hence, expecting them to go all-in this offseason is being more hopeful than tangential.
Still, the Pacers’ aggression — or expected aggression — in the market is a delightful surprise for the very reason Pritchard pointed out. With Tyrese Haliburton spearheading an already-competitive core that will only get richer over the summer, going after a win-now player makes perfect sense. And given the brewing allure in the Circle City, it’s only right that they utilize the rarely-used hammer to try and make a grandiose offer.
So, while we don’t have the specifics yet on concrete targets for the team, we can now at least chalk up our wild trade machine concoctions as realistic frameworks instead of being mere pipe dreams. Hopefully, the Indiana Pacers will act on this remark and finally be able to deploy a roster that can quickly climb up the league ranks before the following campaign begins.