Ripple effects stemming from the Indiana Pacers' bold mid-season trade to land Ivica Zubac from the Los Angeles Clippers this past season will be felt by the franchise for a long time. Indiana's roster construction strategy was altered when its 2026 first-round pick fell under Los Angeles' full ownership after landing at No. 5 overall, indirectly piling more pressure onto the shoulders of 11-year veteran guard T.J. McConnell.
Pacers fans have come to realize that pressure rarely affects the reliable 34-year-old, especially after his valiant 16-point, 6-rebound effort in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. However, McConnell will be facing an entirely foreign form of pressure as he continues to age over the next few seasons.
Indiana had a golden opportunity to ease this pressure and re-tool their backcourt reserve unit entering a guard-heavy 2026 NBA Draft, with potential game-changing talents like Darryn Peterson, Darius Acuff Jr., Keaton Wagler, Kingston Flemings and Mikel Brown Jr. on the board.
Unfortunately, McConnell's chance to mentor the franchise's next impactful guard while slowly riding off into the sunset has completely disappeared. He'll be forced to maintain status as an A-tier backup floor general for the long run instead.
Pacers must begin searching for T.J. McConnell's replacement
No one is projecting that McConnell's production will fall off a cliff entering the 2026-27 season. That doesn't mean he might not start to tail off around 2028-29, when the team will have to decide on if he's worthy of returning on an $11.8 million team option.
During his 11th campaign in 2025-26, the gritty playmaker contributed 9.4 points, 5.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 56 appearances, shooting an efficient 53.8% from the field. These figures are just a small reflection of McConnell's valued consistency over his seven seasons with Indiana.
With that being said, the responsibility of keeping the Pacers' bench offense organized should not remain squared on the shoulders of only McConnell year-in and year-out. Father Time remains undefeated, and he'll be 36 years old by the summer of 2028.
McConnell remains the only true point guard on the Pacers' roster outside of Tyrese Haliburton, and the 2026 draft provided the franchise a chance to add another into the fold. Andrew Nembhard comes to mind in these talks, but he's earned more of a combo-guard reputation after boosting his 2024-25 scoring average of 10.0 points to 16.9 this past season.
Prospects like Acuff Jr. or Flemings were worth taking a flier on, but a guard with high processing speed like Wagler would have been an easy fit. Wagler even drew some heavy Haliburton comparisons from ESPN's Tim Bontemps on Monday morning, who recognized his unselfish nature and offensive impact to be Haliburton-esque.
Not only would an acquisition of this nature lightened the load of McConnell for the next few years, it would have helped the franchise plan for the future and build continuity.
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