If Jarace Walker wants to remain with the Indiana Pacers in the long run, he must use his physicality to his advantage.
After a lackluster first two seasons in the league, next season might be make-or-break for Walker's career in Indiana. His long-term role with the Pacers is still in question, and some would say he has generally been disappointing since getting drafted eighth overall in 2023. However, the Houston alum has shown flashes at times, including near the end of this past regular season. And with next season looking like a potential gap year for the Pacers, he should be able to get a bigger opportunity to show what he is capable of.
There is a lot to like about Walker's game, but arguably the biggest change he needs to make is to be more forceful. One of his biggest traits coming out of college was that he was very athletic and physical with good size. However, he has not shown that on a consistent basis in the league. Recently, Pacers GM Chad Buchanan spoke about this and said this will be one of "the biggest parts" of Walker's development (h/t the Setting the Pace podcast).
"The biggest parts of Jarace's growth [are] gonna be his consistent playing with force," Buchanan said. "I think you see stretches of that where he's playing where he's attacking the rim, where he's active defensively, where he's gobbling up defensive rebounds. Then you'll see stretches where he's very timid and he plays more of a little floater game rather than getting all the way to the rim. We've stressed to him a lot of 'you need to play with this amount of aggressiveness and amount of attacking nature."'
With Walker's Pacers career potentially on the line next year, he must show out in a big way, and it all starts with showcasing that physicality once again.
Jarace Walker can carve out a nice role with the Pacers
He is far from a flawless player, and he still has a lot of room to grow. However, Walker has shown a lot of promise so far, even if it was in a limited role.
Walker makes a lot of mistakes and also needs to work on his consistency (which should be ironed out with a more consistent role). Even so, he has great physical tools and has shown improvements on both sides of the ball. A fully developed Walker could make a big impact in Indiana, especially as they look to re-establish themselves as legitimate title contenders. However, in order for him to get to that point, he needs to take advantage of the increased role he is likely going to get.
Above all else, it is easy to forget that Walker is just 21 years old. He is still an incredibly young prospect with tremendous upside. Furthermore, he fits the Pacers' timeline and could be a key player for the team for the foreseeable future.
There will be a lot of key players and storylines to follow during the Pacers' season next year. This includes what will be next for the center position and how the team will look without Tyrese Haliburton for a year. Walker is also somebody worth keeping an eye on. If he can make the right adjustments, he may guarantee himself a long-term role in Indiana. However, if he can't, then his Pacers career may come to an end before it ever really started.