When teams have quiet offseasons, they often use the same buzzword: continuity. It is, fundamentally, a huge part of team building. Players are people, and people have to get to know each other before working best together. It takes continuity to make personalities mesh.
However, in recent years, teams have raved about continuity in the place of complacency. Look at the Golden State Warriors. Since they shockingly won the 2022 title, the Warriors have slowly been circling the drain, celebrating their continuity as it leads to an older and older team wasting Steph Curry's prime.
The Indiana Pacers are not being complacent. They are making the most out of what they have available to them.
The offseason in summary
Indiana has made three real moves this offseason. They signed Kelly Oubre Jr. to a two-year deal, they signed Larry Nance Jr. after waiving Micah Potter, and they re-signed Jalen Slawson to a two-way deal after cutting Taelon Peter.
Those are not the most aggressive moves, but each of them maximizes what Indiana can do with each of their individual options. Oubre wanted to join the Pacers, despite a ready-made bench role back in Philadelphia, where he spent the last few years.
He offers much of what Indiana needs as a downhill attacker off the catch and a decent enough shooter. He will join the wing rotation either behind or alongside Aaron Nesmith or Andrew Nembhard.
His fit is the cleanest of any free agent target, and while he does not fix Indiana's two biggest holes (shooting and shot creation), he does fit into their pre-existing identity.
Larry Nance Jr. was a productive player for years before injuries sapped his athleticism. While he was once a small-ball five, he is now vaguely a deep-bench option at the four, at least on a surface level. If he can get back to the player he was in Portland or New Orleans, he can be a part of the solution for the Pacers' ever-growing problem in the center rotation.
If anything, it's probably a good sign when the worst move of your offseason is signing a 33-year-old big to a minimum contract.
Jalen Slawson remains the biggest question mark on this roster. On a team looking for rotation-level players on the wing, maybe Slawson can be the breakout option over more expected answers like Jarace Walker or Ben Sheppard.
Slawson compares very favorably to new teammate Kelly Oubre and could add some much-needed weakside rim protection and slashing to a bench unit that is not at the level it likely needs to be for a title chase.
This team's season will not be helped by offseason storylines. As fun as that may be, the Pacers will never find their answer there.
Instead, the hope of this era of Indiana basketball lies firmly on the shoulders of Tyrese Haliburton. If he returns to form, so do the Pacers. If he does not, well, maybe the team can get positive value back in a deal for Oubre.
Either way, this is a team relying on continuity. They don't need more pieces to massage into place.
All they have to do is get back to their former glory, with the pieces that once did it.
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