The Indiana Pacers were one win away from an NBA championship not even a year ago, yet the team already looks pretty different on paper. And there's still a whole offseason they need to navigate through before the next season.
Myles Turner is on the Milwaukee Bucks. Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson are on the Los Angeles Clippers. And there's a possibility someone like Quenton Jackson, Jarace Walker, or (more unlikely) T.J. McConnell is off the roster next season as the Pacers may shed some salary to remain under the luxury tax.
There are also a lot of new faces in Indiana: Ivica Zubac, Kobe Brown (assuming the Pacers re-sign him in the offseason), Jay Huff, Micah Potter, and potentially one of AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, or Caleb Wilson.
With Tyrese Haliburton returning next season, the Pacers are likely going to be able to re-establish themselves as title contenders. But the team already looks different from the last time Haliburton suited up. Sure, there are going to be a lot of familiar faces, but the chemistry will probably be a little off to begin next season, especially as players like Andrew Nembhard revert to their original roles.
And the Pacers are going to have to figure this out as soon as possible next season to make their return to title contention as easy as possible.
The Pacers have an interesting balance of new and old faces
It's going to be an interesting situation when Haliburton returns. On one side, there are the guys he has already gone to war with and knows well (Pascal Siakam, Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Obi Toppin, McConnell). But on the other side is a bunch of players he hasn't played alongside yet (Zubac, Huff, Dybantsa/Boozer/Peterson/Wilson; maybe).
I'm sure he and the team will figure it all out, but this is something worth keeping an eye on. One of the reasons Indiana found so much success during the 2024-25 season was that the roster was almost identical to the one that made it to the conference finals (and gave the eventual champion Boston Celtics their biggest challenge of the entire postseason) just a year before.
Times are different in Indiana now. A lot of those same players who played a role in the Pacers making it to the finals last year are gone now. And that might not necessarily be a bad thing. It's just different.
Still, the Pacers are looking to get back into the title picture next season with Haliburton, Zubac, and the potential addition of one of the top players in this year's draft. Regardless, while they should feel positive about their outlook, they are likely still going to go through some growing pains next season. And how they react to that will be the ultimate factor in whether they can compete for a title or not.