After losing Myles Turner to free agency and Tyrese Haliburton to injury, the Indiana Pacers revealed their attitude towards
The Indiana Pacers lost two of their top players. Myles Turner signed a surprising deal with the Milwaukee Bucks after the Pacers decided not to offer him market value, and All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss next season with a torn Achilles.
Right before Haliburton went down, the Pacers made a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans to get back next year’s first-round pick, which is suddenly looking valuable after their unfortunate start to the offseason.
While fans were shocked that Turner signed with the Bucks and that the Pacers did not make much of an effort to keep him in town, the Pacers’ organization was not surprised but remains optimistic about next season.
“It’s not really all that stunning when you think about it,” an unnamed Pacers’ source told The Athletic before admitting that the team will not tank away next season.
With their draft pick back and Haliburton set to return for 2026-27, maybe taking an off year and tanking is worth it, although Indiana does not seem interested.
Between Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, and an unnamed center–Jay Huff, Tony Bradley, perhaps even James Wiseman–the Pacers should be able to make the playoffs in the weak East, but will likely get trounced in the first round by the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavalaiers, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, or Bucks.
Tanking makes more sense now than ever, but the Pacers, a very proud team coming off a Finals appearance, might not be willing to do the hard thing even if it helps them in the long term.
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May 25, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle shouts during the second quarter against the New York Knicks during game three of the eastern conference finals for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
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