When the Pacers made the decision to trade for Tyrese Haliburton, they knew they were getting a good player. They liked his play on the court, his personality off the court, and his potential to grow. Kevin Pritchard decided to send Domantas Sabonis for a packaged that was centered around Haliburton.
That trade has already worked out better than anyone could have hoped. Haliburton has led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in just his second full season with Indiana. Before the season started, he signed a massive supermax extension for five years worth potentially $260 million.
The only way that the contract got to that point is if he won a major NBA award. That includes making All-NBA. Haliburton had a strong start to the season before getting hurt. After that, he struggled. Still, his performance was enough for voters because he did make an All-NBA team.
Tyrese Haliburton makes Third-team All-NBA to get a massive raise from the Pacers
Haliburton made Third-team All-NBA to trigger that massive supermax contract. By being named Third-team All-NBA, Haliburton makes an extra $41 million. That's a significant jump in pay for Haliburton and now he gets $245 million.
This has a big effect on the Pacers and their ability to sign free agents after this year. They are going to offer Pascal Siakam a max contract after the season as well, so now their cap sheet gets a lot more complicated. The Pacers likely won't be able to sign a really good third option now.
This extra money also means they might have to let some other guys walk next year too. We'll go through a whole list of Indiana Pacers who might not be back next year once this season is over. Hopefully, that doesn't happen for another month.