The jury is still out on Jarace Walker and whether he is truly a long-term fit with the Indiana Pacers. But instead of trading him this summer, Indiana should give the 22-year-old an opportunity to stick around, prove his worth through the first half of next season, and then make a decision... much like they did with Bennedict Mathurin last season.
Walker's young NBA career has been a roller coaster so far, filled with great and horrible moments, and everything in between. But this past season, he showed some real flashes and is seemingly becoming closer to the player everybody thought he would be when he was selected eighth overall in the 2023 draft.
In 75 games, the Houston alum averaged 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 41.9% from the field and 37.4% from deep. Additionally, he looked a lot more confident on both sides of the ball.
But was Walker's career year truly a sign of what's to come? Was it just a typical case of someone putting up empty stats on a bad team? These are important questions he and the Pacers need to figure out, but instead of coming to a conclusion this offseason, Walker deserves a chance to showcase his talents next season... when it will all actually matter again.
The Pacers should follow the Bennedict Mathurin path with Jarace Walker
A lot of what is being said about Walker was said about Mathurin in his situation last summer.
Like Walker is now, Mathurin was eligible for a rookie-scale contract extension last offseason. However, there were question marks around his role with the team (can he become a better fit in the system, is he a starter or sixth man moving forward, etc), which is ultimately why the Pacers opted to give him the start of the 2025-26 season to showcase his value before making a decision.
Of course, Indiana ended up trading the Arizona alum to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac trade in February, but at least the team gave him an opportunity instead of just deciding it didn't want to give him a new deal.
Now, they find themselves in a similar situation with Walker, and as it stands, it's fair to say they should do a repeat of what they did with Mathurin.
Jarace Walker deserves a chance to prove his worth in Indiana
To say that Walker just put up empty stats on a bad team isn't completely fair, given that this didn't stop him from struggling to begin the campaign (9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.8 turnovers, 33.5/29.5/79.1% shooting splits in the first 30 games). Plus, while he still has his flaws (turnovers, questionable one-on-one defense), it was clear that he was a different player at the end of the season than he was in the beginning.
And now that the Pacers are expected to be fully healthy again next season with the return of Tyrese Haliburton, this will be a great opportunity for Walker to prove that his development is real and that he can help the team compete for a title right away.
On paper, there's a lot to like about Walker. When he's hot, he can do a bit of everything as a jack-of-all-trades type of player. And especially with Mathurin no longer on the roster, Indiana has some depth questions to answer as is.
Is Walker going to be a Hall of Famer when all is said and done? Probably not. But he should at least be given the same hand Mathurin got and get one final, real opportunity to prove he can be a valuable asset for years to come. And if he can't, then he can follow Mathurin's footsteps on the way out and look to make an impact and sign a new contract elsewhere.
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