The Pacers could be in a financial crunch with an Andrew Nembhard extension
By Ryan Stano
The Indiana Pacers have some tough decisions to make. After making the Eastern Conference Finals, they are a lot closer than anyone thought to winning an NBA title. They were close to making the NBA Finals this year. Had they been a bit more clutch, they could have had a 3-1 lead over Boston.
Instead, they are in the offseason and are trying to improve the team so they can make that final big leap to the NBA Finals. In order to do that, they are going to have to spend some money. Pascal Siakam is about to get a max contract. Tyrese Haliburton's supermax contract kicks in next season.
Besides that, the Pacers are looking to extend T.J. McConnell and Andrew Nembhard. Nembhard's extension wouldn't kick in for a couple of years, but his extension is going to be way more expensive than McConnell's. It's going to be more expensive than many people expected.
How can the Indiana Pacers sign Andrew Nembhard along with everyone else they have to pay?
Nembhard is capped at making $75 million over four years thanks to the CBA. With how he played in the Eastern Conference Finals, he could command money close to that amount. Indiana would prefer to bring him in at something along the lines of four years for $55 million.
So how are they going to afford all of these good players? Quite simply, Herb Simon is going to have to pay the luxury tax. If he doesn't, then Kevin Pritchard will have trade some of these guys away. The Pacers will find it hard to sustain the unexpected success they had this year.
Looking at the cap sheet, Indiana likely has a three-year window to win a title with the team as currently constructed. After that, finances will get in the way. With the new media rights deal coming in at $76 million, perhaps the salary cap will go up. That would help the Pacers immensely.
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My guess is that they will offer Nembhard a contract extension at some point this summer. There will certainly be a dialogue. The worst-case scenario is they allow him to be a restricted free agent and then they match whatever offer comes in.