Pacers who may not be back for the 2026-27 season
The 2025-26 season is officially in the history books for the Indiana Pacers, and because they have missed the playoffs for the first time in three years, it's time for them to shift their focus to the offseason and beyond.
Fortunately for Indiana, though a postseason appearance wasn't in the cards this season, that should change next season once Tyrese Haliburton, who missed this past season due to an Achilles injury, returns to game action.
Haliburton's return is going to be huge for the Pacers and the fanbase. The two-time All-NBA guard is the heartbeat of the team's offense and is their most important player (this past season was proof of that). However, there's a chance that not everybody currently on the roster will stick around for what should be a bounce-back season for Haliburton and Indiana.
Here are five Pacers who may have already played their last game for the team.
1. Kam Jones
Kam Jones, whom the Pacers acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in last year's draft, had a mostly uneventful rookie season. In 37 games, he averaged 4.4 points, 3.2 assists, and 1.6 rebounds while shooting 40.2% from the field and 29.3% from beyond the arc in 16.6 minutes.
The Marquette alum showed some promise in his rookie season, but there are reasons for Indiana to move on from him.
For starters, Jones' salary will jump up to $2.2 million next season (not fully guaranteed) and will only go up from there through the 2028-29 season. The Pacers will likely look to shed some salary to avoid paying the luxury tax, making Jones an easy cap casualty.
Additionally, the 24-year-old is in a guard room with a returning Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, T.J. McConnell, Quenton Jackson, Ben Sheppard, and Johnny Furphy (and potentially Darryn Peterson if they get their first-round pick back). It's going to be difficult for him to carve out a legitimate role in Indiana, and that might make it easy for the team to move on from him this offseason.
2. Quenton Jackson
You can copy-and-paste everything I said about Jones, replace his name with Jackson's, and it all works the same. If the Pacers choose to keep Jones, then the Los Angeles native may be on his way out instead.
This past season was a big one for Jackson. Not only did he have the biggest role of his four-year NBA career to this point (and made the most of it), but he finally earned a standard contract, signing a three-year, $6.1 million deal in February.
However, his $2.6 million salary for next season becomes fully guaranteed on July 15. And if the Pacers are serious about remaining under the luxury tax, they may opt to move on from Jackson, who is roughly 3.5 years older than Jones.
3. Kobe Brown
This one is pretty easy. Kobe Brown is the only Pacer guaranteed to be an unrestricted free agent this summer (Micah Potter has a team option, and Jalen Slawson is set to hit restricted free agency).
Brown has played well for the Pacers since joining the team as part of the Ivica Zubac-Bennedict Mathurin trade, averaging 9.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2 assists while shooting 50.3% from the field and 43.3% from deep in 27 games.
However, it would be incredibly difficult for him to get minutes on a team that also rosters Pascal Siakam, Obi Toppin, Jarace Walker, and potentially AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, or Caleb Wilson. Plus, his salary for this past season was $2.7 million. And with how well he played, he might have played himself out of that range for Indiana.
He has been a very solid addition to the Pacers' roster, but for depth and financial reasons, moving on from Brown this summer may be the team's best option.
4. Jay Huff
For the most part, Huff's first season in Indiana could be considered a success. He is the only center remaining from the team's committee to begin the season (Isaiah Jackson was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, and James Wiseman and Tony Bradley were released). Additionally, Huff was the only player to play in all 82 of the Pacers' games this season, and he solidified himself as a legitimate asset to the team, mostly as a backup center.
However, the Virginia alum has a few things going against him.
For starters, he is wildly inconsistent. He is a solid fit in Indiana because of his rim protection and ability to stretch the floor, but it seems like he can't do both at a high level for long. He finished the season shooting just 31.9% from deep, but he shot 36% or better from deep in 29 games. Additionally, he recorded three or more blocks in 25 games and zero in 14 of them.
Plus, while Huff has been solid for the Pacers this season, Potter has also been a fantastic center in their system and has a $2.8 million team option for next season (for context, Huff is set to make $2.6 million next season and has a $3 million team option for 2027-28).
Huff may have higher highs than Potter does (maybe), but he is way less consistent. It's fair to assume that Indiana may look to move on from one of them, especially for salary reasons, and with Huff having an extra year on his contract, it makes him easier to trade and get assets back for.
5. Jarace Walker
The jury is still out on Walker and whether he can truly be a rotation player for the Pacers or not.
On one hand, he just put together the best season of his career, averaging 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 41.9% from the field and 37.4% from deep in 76 games. He looks way more comfortable in every area of the game, and at just 22 years old, there are reasons to believe he should only get better from here and become a real contributor in Indiana for years to come.
But on the other hand, he still has some inconsistencies (streaky shooter, zero turnovers one game and five the next, is a capable defender some games and not others). Walker is eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension this summer, but as was made clear by their decision to trade Mathurin in February, the Pacers are more than willing to move on from a player they deem a questionable fit rather than giving them a new contract.
Only time will tell, but as it stands, there are real reasons to believe that Walker has already played his final game for the Pacers.