As the NBA season approaches its end, the Indiana Pacers sit in a good spot. They currently own the No. 5 seed and are in a three-way battle for homecourt advantage with the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons. Additionally, for the second consecutive season, the Pacers are going to secure a playoff spot as they look to repeat last year's postseason success.
The Pacers made a conference finals appearance in 2024 for the first time in a decade. Despite getting swept by the eventual champion Boston Celtics, the Pacers proved they belonged on the big stage. As the team continues to find their ceiling, they are a team to monitor in the playoffs this year as well.
Regardless of how the Pacers do in the playoffs, there are some major decisions they must make in the offseason. However, there is only one real solution to their dilemma, and Myles Turner may have just proved that.
The Pacers must keep the team intact in the offseason
Recently, Turner spoke with Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda about the Pacers' chances of competing for a title. In his interview, the long-time Pacers big man said he feels the team has "all the pieces we need" and that they just need to "get hot at the right time."
“We just have all the pieces we need. I think that at times, sometimes teams are like, ‘If only we had this, if only we had that.’ That’s not really the case for us,” Turner said. “I think we have everything we need to compete. It’s just a matter of making all the pieces fit and just get hot at the right time.”
This summer, the Pacers have a few players they must make decisions on, including Turner, as well as Bennedict Mathurin and Obi Toppin.
Most notably, Turner is an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and cannot sign an extension before that. Additionally, Mathurin is eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension in the summer. As for Toppin, the Pacers must decide whether they plan on keeping him for at least another season or trade him for financial flexibility (though this should also be an easy decision for the front office).
The Pacers must either decide to pay all their players as much as needed to keep the roster together, or avoid paying the luxury tax and create as much financial flexibility as possible. Like Turner said, the Pacers have all the pieces already, and last year's conference finals run proved that. The team must be prepared to spend money and continue to give the current roster their time together.
Either way, the offseason is still a few months away, so the Pacers have time to let the rest of this season play out. However, as it stands, there is no reason for the front office to risk losing valuable parts of the team, especially if it is just to save money.