5 free agents the Pacers should poach from Eastern Conference rivals
By Ben Grunert
The Indiana Pacers hold one of the brightest futures in the NBA, thanks to their stellar young core led by Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin. Two-time block champ Myles Turner had a career year as well, thriving alongside Haliburton and his sublime court vision.
While the Pacers are headed in the right direction behind a promising roster, they also have something most other teams don’t: almost $30 million in cap space.
With a projected maximum cap space of $29.9 million dollars, Indiana will have the ability to sign multiple new players this offseason. In theory, the team has enough money to sign a star-level talent. However, the 2023 free agency pool isn’t exactly brimming with stars that fit the team’s timeline.
The Pacers own the No. 7 pick in the upcoming draft, along with two first-round selections and a pair of second-rounders. Depending on what Indiana does with its upcoming draft capital, the organization could be in for a busy summer. And from the looks of it, the summer will be just that.
In an interview with IndyStar, Kevin Pritchard – the Pacers’ president of basketball operations – all but admitted that Indiana will be trading at least a few of their picks.
"“We have three first-round picks. We will have two second-round picks depending on what the lottery kicks out. I don’t want to bring in five young kids to this organization. We have enough young kids that we’re really grooming.”"
Given the collection of young talent in Indy, the Pacers should look to deal some draft capital in search of complimentary pieces to build around Haliburton and his all-world playmaking. Luckily for Pacers fans, Pritchard seems to support such an idea.
"“I’m optimistic about our future. I think there’s some opportunities for us to look at our draft picks and cap space and maybe put a bunch together and make big packages and go after some players. I can’t say for sure that’s gonna get done. But I want to be really creative with how we go after the right players.”"
Needless to say, the Pacers seem primed to shake things up when NBA free agency kicks off on July 6. Indiana could especially benefit from swooping in and swiping players from fellow teams out east.
Here are five free agents the Pacers should steal from Eastern Conference rivals this offseason.