The Indiana Pacers made the first move of free agency by agreeing to bring back Pascal Siakam on a max, four-year deal. The deal is worth $189.5 million over the course of it. Not only is he the first fee agent Indiana decided to take care of, but he's also the first free agent period to agree to a deal.
Siakam fits exactly with what the Pacers want. He is a star player who has length. They needed someone who can help on defense with length and also put the ball in the hoop. Siakam checks both of those boxes easily. He's also one of the few guys who can make tough shots at the end of the shot clock.
There's a reason why the Pacers wanted to make Siakam the first free-agency domino to fall. He is the key to the rest of the moves that they want to make once June 30th rolls around. That's when they can start negotiating with free agents from other teams.
The Pacers needed to take care of Pascal Siakam first to move forward in free agency
Indiana knew that Siakam wanted to come back. They also know that bringing him back allows them to figure out their cap sheet. Now, they don't have room to pay another max player unless they want to pay into the first apron of the luxury tax. That's not something Herb Simon has ever done.
Why didn't another team sign one of their free agents first? Well first off, teams can't officially sign their players until July 6th. Still, this deal got released so early because obviously both Siakam and the Pacers want to continue their relationship without further delay.
That relationship is why Siakam is the first domino to fall. All of the other free agents out there want to test the market at least a little bit. Siakam knew exactly where he wanted to be, and that was in Indiana. He's hoping to get them to the NBA Finals next year, one step past where they were this year.