INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers are missing their franchise cornerstone and the all-time leading shot blocker from the team that reached last year’s NBA Finals, but as they approach training camp, they still return enough depth to be stable at most positions as camp approaches.

At every position from point guard to power forward they will have a player in the first unit who started at least 37 games last season. There is one position with wide-open competition, but the Pacers will have four competitors to build a rotation from at that position. Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tendon tear and Myles Turner’s departure to the Bucks in free agency cost the franchise a significant amount of momentum from their first Finals trip in 25 years, but they still have a fair bit of continuity at most positions as they try for a third straight playoff run.

Here’s a position-by-position look at the Pacers as training camp starts Monday.

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Point Guard

Starter: Andrew Nembhard

Backup: T.J. McConnell

Other Options: Delon Wright, Kam Jones, RayJ Dennis, Quenton Jackson, Ben Sheppard, Jarace Walker

Outlook: The Pacers might have had the best point guard depth in the NBA last year. That doesn’t entirely make up for the fact that they’ll go through the entire 2025-26 season without their best player in Haliburton, but they’ll at least have players in his stead who are experienced in his position.

Nembhard is a point guard by trade and even though he been nominally the shooting guard for most of the past three seasons, he’s operated as a secondary ball-handler and frequently brought the ball up to allow Haliburton to create space for himself with off-the-ball movement. So playmaking duties aren’t new to him. The Pacers will likely need him to score more than his 10.0 points per game last season — which was a career-high — but he averaged 12.5 per game in the playoffs and has proven he can handle an increased scoring load when Haliburton has missed games with more short-term injuries.

McConnell has a case for best backup point guard in the NBA. His 2024-25 campaign wasn’t as good as his 2023-24 season, but he still finished 11th in the NBA in total points off the bench and first by far in assists. The Pacers know well what they’re getting from him as a second-unit leader.

The Pacers had interest all summer in adding a veteran point guard in free agency. They agreed to sign Monte Morris but then found he had a calf strain that would cost him most of training camp, so they didn’t complete the signing and ended up getting Delon Wright. Wright, heading into his 11th year in the NBA, averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 assists down the stretch for the Knicks and provided depth behind Jalen Brunson during the Eastern Conference Finals. Kam Jones was excellent as Marquette’s point guard in his senior year and the Pacers took him in the second round to have a little more depth. RayJ Dennis is on a two-way contract so there is a cap on the number of games he can suit up for, but he had a strong performance in NBA Summer League and gave the Pacers reason to believe he could be trusted with more minutes.

Shooting Guard

Starter: Bennedict Mathurin

Likely backup: Ben Sheppard

Other Options: Andrew Nembhard, Monte Morris, Kam Jones, Quenton Jackson, Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, Taelon Peter.

Outlook: Mathurin has been in and out of the starting lineup because as gifted as a scorer as he is, he doesn’t always fit easily with Haliburton’s style of play. However, with Haliburton out, he’s far too talented to keep out of the starting five and the Pacers will need his scoring punch to make up for the loss of Haliburton’s production and gravity. He’s made progress on the defensive end, so Pacers will be hoping to see more of that.

Sheppard is sort of Mathurin’s opposite, an easy fit in the system but not nearly as aggressive of a scorer. The Pacers might need him to be a little more opportunistic on a second unit that doesn’t have a proven scorer at the 2 or 3, but they’ll be happy to have his energy and defense.

The Pacers could have some lineups when they play McConnell and Nesmith together. They could play big in the second unit with either Walker or Furphy at the 2. They can trust Jones there and they know Jackson on his two-way contract can hang with NBA lineups.

Small Forward

Starter: Aaron Nesmith

Likely backup: Jarace Walker

Other Options: Johnny Furphy, Ben Sheppard, Quenton Jackson, Obi Toppin, Taelon Peter,

Outlook: Nesmith missed 35 games with an ankle sprain last season, but took his starting job back after the All-Star break and was critical during the regular season stretch run and the playoffs. He averaged 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game in postseason play and shot an absurd 49.2% from 3-point range with his 60 playoff 3-pointers being the most of any player in the postseason. It’s obviously not sustainable for him to keep shooting at that clip, but Haliburton and Turner were 1-2 in 3-pointers on the roster last season so the Pacers will need him to keep making 3s. He also might have to take the top perimeter defensive assignment more often to help Nembhard out.

Walker, the No. 8 pick in the 2023 draft, was in and out of the rotation last year but has his best chance to stick. The Pacers will want the 6-7, 235-pounder to play with more force and match his considerable defensive potential, but he’s shown real growth as a 3-point shooter.

Furphy has come along faster than expected and will likely start the season as the Pacers’ 11th man. He said he put on 20 pounds last season which made him surprisingly good defensively and on the glass. The Australian and former Kansas star is a sneaky good athlete who could handle any position 2-4.

Toppin could handle the 3 if the Pacers go big and Sheppard or Jackson might be able to play there if they opted to go very small. Taelon Peter could be a fit at either wing position though his minutes will likely be limited.

Power Forward

Starter: Pascal Siakam

Backup: Obi Toppin

Other options: Jarace Walker, Johnny Furphy, Aaron Nesmith

Outlook: Now that he’s the only All-Star on the roster, the Pacers will looking to Pascal Siakam even more frequently for leadership. He’s been more comfortable using his voice and his example is clearly excellent. He led the Pacers in scoring last year and earned his third All-Star nod and Eastern Conference MVP honors, averaging 20.2 points per game in the regular season and 20.5 per game in the playoffs. He fits naturally into the Pacers’ uptempo offense but he’s also their best isolation threat when they have to slow down and he’s bought into their full-court pressure defense. The Pacers will be asking a lot from him.

Toppin’s speed and athleticism have helped him flourish in Indiana because he’s such a weapon in fast breaks. In two years with the Pacers he’s made 70% of his 2-point attempts and 80.1% of his shots within 3 feet of the rim. He was seventh in the NBA in total points off the bench last season.

Walker and Furphy could both get some work at the 4, especially in smaller lineups when Toppin plays the 5, and either could handle the spot if Siakam or Toppin miss any time. Nesmith fits most naturally at the 3, but he did start at power forward before Siakam and Toppin were acquired so he could play there in a pinch.

Center

Options: Jay Huff, Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman, Tony Bradley

Outlook: Turner’s departure makes this position battle wide open and it will be difficult to handicap until camp starts.

Huff, acquired from the Grizzlies in a trade shortly after Turner signed with the Bucks, has the most similarities to Turner’s game. He hit 81 3-pointers last year and he can play above the rim and block shots. The 28-year-old has played in only 95 NBA games with 64 of them coming last season, but the Pacers have been intrigued by him for years and this might be his best opportunity to stick in the league.

Jackson and Wiseman both tore Achilles tendons in the first 10 days of last season and missed the rest of it, but the Pacers opted to re-sign both men. Jackson had three years of service in with the Pacers already and is proven as a shot-blocker, rebounder and rim-runner, though he hasn’t really expanded his game as a shooter. The 7-1, 240-pound Wiseman — the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft — joined the Pacers last offseason and showed signs that he could be a force around the bucket last preseason before suffering his injury in the season’s first game. The Pacers traded him away at the deadline but he was waived by the Raptors and finished his rehab in Indiana and the Pacers were impressed enough by what he did there to bring him back.

Bradley was signed out of the G League after the deadline, initially to two 10-day contracts before he signed a deal for the rest of the season. He proved he could box out some bigger bodied backup centers — New York’s Mitchell Robinson and Oklahoma City’s Isaiah Hartenstein — which made a difference in the latter stages of the playoffs. Bradley is on a non-guaranteed contract and could be cut to make room for Wright, but also could be worth keeping around as the Pacers get a better sense of the extent to which Jackson and Wiseman are in game shape.

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