The Indiana Pacers made it to a seventh game in the NBA Finals just weeks ago after a year of rugged play, high offensive pace and total buy-in.
Vibes were high, to the point where ownership was reportedly willing to enter the luxury tax in order to re-sign starting center Myles Turner, who’d be an unrestricted free agent by the end of the season.
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Because why not? The team was competitive after all. It had depth, quality at virtually every position and a franchise player in point guard Tyrese Haliburton who knew how to lead it deep into the playoffs.
That is, until Haliburton tore his Achilles, crumbled to the ground and everything changed.
Ownership tightened its purse strings, no longer willing to exceed the luxury tax limit in order to keep Turner around despite an overwhelming interest from the man himself to return.
The result?
Letting Myles Turner walk is a tough blow to Pacers fans. (AP photo/Michael Conroy)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Turner signed with the Milwaukee Bucks for $107 million over four years — a deal that’s not only manageable but outright good value — and it’s left the Pacers in a situation where they now have to ponder where exactly they’re headed.
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Haliburton will probably rehab his Achilles injury throughout 2025-26 and return for 2026-27, but it’ll be a long and tedious road.
In the meantime, the Pacers find themselves a bit stuck. Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell will probably do a fine job filling in for Haliburton, but their ceiling is now heavily compromised with no Haliburton and no Turner.
That could lead to some harsh ripple effects. Will Pascal Siakam look at the roster and his own age at 31 and reach the conclusion that he needs to go elsewhere in order to win?
It wouldn’t be an unfair notion.
Bennedict Mathurin is extension-eligible and will be on a new deal in 12 months. How much is too much for a team that’s historically frightened of the luxury tax?
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All of this suggests a certain level of chaos moving forward. Everything seems fluid and unpredictable, which isn’t exactly an environment that foster championship habits or organizational belief.
So, what now?
If the Pacers wish to quickly rid themselves of this bitter taste of defeat and pointlessness, they will need to salvage things now. Not later but during this offseason, and they need to act quickly.
With their sudden need at center, the organization should reach out to Deandre Ayton, whom they signed in 2022 to an offer sheet, which Phoenix matched.
Ayton isn’t Turner, nor will he ever be, but he’s just good enough for the players on the roster to see a real attempt at gaining ground, and right now that’s of immense importance.
But even an Ayton acquisition, if that comes to fruition, won’t shake the feeling of disappointment from the players.
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There’s no other way to say this: Even with Haliburton’s Achilles tear, the signal you send of avoiding the luxury tax by letting one of your most important players go is one of blatant indifference.
Ownership has just told the team and the fan base that even an exciting NBA Finals appearance, where they were one win from taking it all, is less important than getting a piece of that delicious luxury tax payment, sent out annually by the teams that do cross that threshold.
The money is the point, and the competitive side of the business is a distant second priority.
What does that mean for the Pacers moving forward?
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In a nutshell, it means players and agents will view the franchise less as a destination to win and more so as a destination where they can just play and collect a paycheck. Ho-hum.
The strategy of tailoring a team around Haliburton and putting emphasis on depth and quality worked. Full stop. It worked, and the results were formidable.
It would make all the sense in the world for that direction to remain, but instead it’s now in the process of getting torn down through the self-imposed organizational spending limit.
The Pacers should have leaned into this success and built even more aggressively for when Haliburton makes his return.
Instead, they cheapened out and are leaving him and his teammates with just the memories of a Finals run that’s unlikely to be made again.
Let’s hope it was all worth it.
Morten Stig Jensen
