No, I'm not saying the Indiana Pacers should trade T.J. McConnell this offseason. But here are the facts: 1) he is set to make $11 million next season, 2) the Pacers have not paid the luxury tax in over two decades and there are no reasons to believe they're going to start now, 3) with Tyrese Haliburton coming back and potentially Darryn Peterson entering the equation, they may have a logjam in the backcourt, and 4) McConnell just turned 34 years old and has already hit his peak.
Trading McConnell isn't priority No. 1 for Indiana this summer. And it's probably not even on the list. But let's just call it like it is: the Pacers need to shed some salary if they want to stay below the luxury tax threshold, and trading McConnell while he still has some value would greatly help them in this area.
There is a case for the Pacers to trade T.J. McConnell
The Pennsylvania native is an incredibly intelligent player who runs the Pacers' second unit at a high level. However, he also isn't as important as he was even just a few years ago.
With Haliburton and Nembhard coming into their own, the Pacers have a lot more ball-handling depth than they did when McConnell was getting Sixth Man of the Year votes in 2021 and 2024. And this isn't even factoring in the possibility of them drafting Peterson later this year. If Indiana opts to commit to its smaller guards, then McConnell's days with the team could be numbered.
Additionally, if the Pacers do end up getting Peterson, there is the likelihood that he becomes their new starting shooting guard (whether it's right away or not is a different question), which would in turn move Nembhard to the bench, allowing him to essentially take on the McConnell role. And as much as the Pacers love having McConnell around, you don't need two of him off the bench.
In the past year, Indiana moved on from Myles Turner (though the jury is still out on whose fault this really was), Bennedict Mathurin, and Isaiah Jackson as a way to avoid paying the luxury tax. And it's fair to assume they won't be the only casualties.
Ultimately, it all comes down to what the Pacers' priorities are. But as it stands, don't be too surprised if McConnell finds himself on a new team sooner rather than later.