The Indiana Pacers are reportedly bringing in a handful of G-League players to join their training camp roster. While each of the four players – Keion Brooks Jr., Cam Hildreth, M.J. Iraldi, and Wade Taylor IV – will likely spend the entire season with the Noblesville Boom, their presence reminds the team of its biggest weakness: a lack of playable depth.
Indiana's starting lineup is among the best in the league, but their bench is top-heavy and not even very good. While TJ McConnell, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Obi Toppin are decent reserve contributors, they do not stack up to the rest of the conference.
Worst of all, the Pacers have used six more of their roster slots on players who will not start the season in the rotation and are, at best, situationally useful. Jarace Walker has been a draft bust to date; Ben Sheppard is yet to prove he can contribute outside of garbage time; and Larry Nance Jr. hasn't been a difference-maker since injuries sapped him of the athleticism to make him a capable small-ball five.
The Pacers do not have expectations for any of their non-rotation players to become rotation players next year. They claim to have these long-lasting plans for players to become something, but fail to put them in situations to show that.
While Indiana's front office is masterful at making trades, it seems rare that their draft and free agency acquisitions work out. Will any of these G-League players even become standard players? Is the best-case scenario for them the prototype of Quenton Jackson, who won't play much in 2026-27?
That's the main issue with the Pacers. They've spent all but one of their roster spots and have little to show for it.
Get to know your new (temporary) Pacers
If you don't recognize any of those four names, no one would blame you. None of them have been real minute earners in the NBA at any point in their careers.
Keion Brooks Jr., the cover image for this piece, is the closest to being an NBA player. After spending last season on a two-way contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, Brooks is joining the Pacers, who have taken league castoffs and given them new life.
Brooks is likely looking to Jalen Slawson and Quenton Jackson as the guides to his career moving forward.
Both Hildreth and Iraldi spent last season with Noblesville. Already a part of the Pacers' larger network of talent, the two wings managed to put up double digit scoring averages in the G-League and have some familiarity with the organization.
Finally, Taylor IV is returning to the United States after a season in Mexico City. He will likely join the Boom after this extended audition in training camp.
It's hard to really expect anything from any of these players. If any of them play real minutes this year, the season has gone hilariously off the rails, and the Pacers likely have larger problems at that point. It simply feels disingenuous to act like Indiana is taking their depth problem seriously.
Add us as a preferred source on Google