The Indiana Pacers have had so much success over the past couple of years and have a bright future for plenty of reasons. But perhaps at the top of the list is their elite front office that has done a great job of finding the right guys for Rick Carlisle's system who will buy into it.
And Tyrese Haliburton seems to know that best.
In a recent episode of the "Mind the Game" podcast, Haliburton praised the Pacers' front offices for the moves they've made over the past few years and made it clear that it's been a big part of their recent success.
"I think adding Pascal [Siakam], Andrew Nembhard coming into his own, we traded for Aaron Nesmith, we traded for Obi [Toppin], we got all these pieces that go alongside the way we play and they've done a great job of constructing our roster, and I feel like it's allowed us to have a lot of success," Haliburton said.
The Pacers' front office constantly strikes gold
Indiana has a lot going for it. It has one of the best coaching staffs in the league (and arguably the best offensive mind in the game leading the way in Rick Carlisle), and the roster is fantastic. But the front office has done an amazing job of getting the right players year in and year out to make the magic happen. And it has paid dividends.
What's so fascinating about what the Pacers have done over the past few years is that they have taken players who were castaways from their former teams or just overlooked in the draft, free agency, etc., and turned them into real assets.
The Sacramento Kings traded Haliburton very early in his NBA career to build around De'Aaron Fox (who is now with the San Antonio Spurs anyway. It's funny how things work out sometimes). Aaron Nesmith was mostly just a bench warmer during his time with the Boston Celtics and was looked at as a throw-in in the Malcolm Brogdon trade. The New York Knicks traded Obi Toppin to Indiana for two second-round picks. Andrew Nembhard was a second-round pick. The list goes on and on.
Regardless, the Pacers have been able to find diamonds in the rough regularly, and it's worked out for them in a tremendous way. They were just one win away from their first-ever NBA championship last year, and they have an incredibly bright future ahead of them.
Times are tough in Indiana right now as it flirts with the bottom of the league standings. But brighter days are certainly ahead, and a lot of that can be attributed to the brilliant work of its front office.