The Indiana Pacers are entering one of the most critical offseason periods in franchise history. They are on the upswing but will continue to be only if they are able to make the right decisions this offseason.
In this piece, we put together everything you need to know about the Pacers offseason. Who they may be targeting, who their free agents are, who they may trade for, and what they need to get in the NBA draft.
Indiana Pacers needs to address this offseason
The Indiana Pacers were unable to get to the playoffs, so that means there continue to be quite a few things that the team needs to address this offseason if they want to be competitive in future years.
The biggest need at the moment is wings, and more specifically, power forwards. It’s not surprise that all of the recent trades for the Pacers (Nwora, Nesmith) are targeting versatile wings that can guard multiple positions. If you look both the Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat in the finals, you will see that the league is requiring wings in order to win in the playoffs.
But we also need secondary playmaking. Tyrese is amazing, but he alone cannot make every play every single time. He needs to be free to score and focus on other things on the court as well. Thus a second playmaker on the court to go alongside of Haliburton would be a big get.
Indiana Pacers outgoing free agents in 2023
The Pacers, luckily, don’t have many free agents after the 2023 season. And on top of that, the ones that they do aren’t players that generally have played a critical role in the rotation night in and night out.
Here are the outgoing free agents for the Indiana Pacers this offseason:
- Oshae Brissett
- Kendall Brown
- George Hill
- James Johnson
- Gabe York
Three of these players some at least a small piece of the rotation, mainly Brissett/Hill/Johnson. While the other two really should be considered prospects still.
Brissett is a wing that for some reason, hasn’t gotten the opportunity to thrive under the Rick Carlisle system. For whatever reason, if we aren’t going to play him, he should likely look for a new opportunity this offseason.
George Hill has said that he would like to remain in Indiana to finish off his career, but that will be up to whether or not we have the roster spot to support him. While George Hill has certainly given a lot to the Pacers, they shouldn’t hold a roster spot for an aging player that we already have far too much depth at.
James Johnson is in a similar position, as the aging veteran needed to hold the locker room together. I expect that the Pacers will bring back one of Hill/Johnson, but it’s hard to know who exactly.
Indiana Pacers summer free agent targets to boost the roster
There are nearly infinite number of free agents the Pacers could pursue, but we know that the main objective this offseason will likely be wings and wings that can be a secondary playmaker. Because of this it helps us to narrow down the field of potential candidates.
What will also matter is if the Pacers still have a long-term vision or want to return to the playoffs sooner rather than later. That will also change what this list would look like. But here are some of the free agent wings available this offseason that probably fit what the Indiana Pacers are best looking to do.
- Khris Middleton
- Kristaps Porzingis
- Draymond Green
- Harrison Barnes
- Jerami Grant
- Christian Wood
- Kyle Kuzma
- Kelly Oubre Jr.
- Dillon Brooks
- Jae Crowder
- Danilo Gallinari
Personally? I’m doubtful the Indiana Pacers heavily pursue anyone on this list (perhaps Grant?). But these would be the players they would target if the opportunity fell into their lap or if they want to get competitive much faster than the draft.
Indiana Pacers summer trade targets to help improve the young core
There are also a handful of players that the Indiana Pacers would likely be interested in trading for if they were to become available. Many of these players are from teams that are reportedly trying to bottom out or may want to move on from the player for one reason or another. Here are a list of potential trade targets for the Pacers this summer:
- OG Anunoby
- Jarrett Allen
- Deandre Ayton
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Royce O’Neale
- John Collins
- Pascal Siakam
- Matisse Thybulle
All of these players have been linked to trade rumors, and many of them would greatly improve the Indiana Pacers (I’m looking at you OG Anunoby). But many of them would also prove costly needing to move multiple first-rounders for many of the best players on the list.
We will see if the Indiana Pacers front office is wanting to move draft assets or actually use them in the coming drafts.
Indiana Pacers targets in the NBA Draft
One of the best places the Pacers can improve easily is through the draft. This is likely the way that the Indiana Pacers will go about improving this offseason. They have the beginnings of a young core and will likely want to add one more piece to create an excellent young group to build around. Here are some of the names in the draft process that are linked to the Pacers and will likely be targets come draft day:
- Taylor Hendricks
- Jarace Walker
- Anthony Black
- Cason Wallace
- Jalen Hood-Schifino
- Cam Whitmore
- Trayce Jackson-Davis
- Bobi Klintman
If you noticed a theme throughout the draft picks it was probably the same theme throughout this entire article, i.e. the Indiana Pacers needs wings/forwards and they need them badly. They probably have a sustainable player for every other position locked up and poised for success.
We will see what the Indiana Pacers decide to do, but it should be fun to watch.