Offseason Approach
Back to title contention with a healthy roster and maybe a top-four pick
Actual Cap Space
-$58.7 million
Practical Cap Space
-$58.4 million
Projected Luxury Tax Space
-$12.3 million, $3.6 million over first apron
Under Contract (15)
Johnny Furphy
Tyrese Haliburton
Jay Huff
Quenton Jackson ($275K guaranteed)
Kam Jones ($1.1 million guaranteed)
T.J. McConnell
Andrew Nembhard
Aaron Nesmith
Taelon Peter (two-way)
Ben Sheppard
Pascal Siakam
Ethan Thompson (two-way)
Obi Toppin
Jarace Walker
Ivica Zubac
Potential Free Agents (3)
Kobe Brown (unrestricted)
Micah Potter (unrestricted – team option)
Jalen Slawson (restricted – two-way)
Dead Cap (0)
None
Projected Signing Exceptions
Taxpayer MLE ($6.1 million)
Notable Trade Exceptions
None
Projected First Round Draft Pick
#2
Notable Extension Candidates
Johnny Furphy (veteran extension)
Tyrese Haliburton (veteran extension)
Andrew Nembhard (veteran extension)
Ben Sheppard (rookie scale extension)
Pascal Siakam (veteran extension)
Obi Toppin (veteran extension)
Jarace Walker (rookie scale extension)
Ivica Zubac (veteran extension)
Analysis
What a difference a year makes. Last season, as the NBA Finals runner up, the Indiana Pacers were the next-to-last team in our 2025 Offseason Preview Series. This year, the Pacers were the first team to be officially eliminated from postseason contention.
The good news for Indiana? They could be right back near the end of this series a year from now. It’s a roller coaster, but the Pacers should be back up on the upswing next season. Helping that rebound would be a little luck at the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery.
In a loaded draft, everyone will be watching the lottery, but the Pacers will be stressing that 10 other teams are drawn before them. Depending on where Indiana enters the lottery (pre-lottery placement is still very much up in the air with a couple of weeks left in the regular season), a team or two jumping up could be the difference between drafting in the top four of the draft and not having a first-round pick at all.
As a result of trading for Ivica Zubac, the Pacers 2026 first-round pick is top-four protected. If that pick lands between fifth and ninth in the lottery, it will go to the LA Clippers. If Indiana keeps their pick, the Pacers will send the Clippers an unprotected 2031 first-round pick.
So, the Pacers are between coming home with one of Cameron Boozer (Indiana’s reported favorite player in the first round), A.J. Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Caleb Wilson (this is the widely projected top-four in the 2026 first round), or no one.
That’s going to make for an interesting and stressful lottery night in Indiana.
Beyond the draft lottery drama, the Pacers offseason is fairly cut-and-dry. Indiana did some “pre”-agency work by acquiring Zubac to be the long-term starting center. Every other current or would-be rotation player is under contract through at least 2026-27.
That leaves the Pacers front office without a lot of pressing business. That means that they can be opportunistic. Trades or a targeted signing to fill a rotation hole could be made. However nothing is such a need that something must be done.
If Indiana comes away with a top-four pick in the draft, they could look to shed some money. The Pacers have historically shied away from paying the luxury tax. With a top-four pick in the mix, the team projects to be over the first apron.
While title contenders are often in the luxury tax, and recently over the first apron, this would be a big jump for Indiana. To go from being under the tax line for two decades to over the first apron isn’t somewhere we should expect the Pacers to be.
That means this team could be looking to shed some money. No matter if Indiana goes big (Boozer or Wilson) or with a perimeter playmaker (Dybantsa or Peterson), they’ll be flush with depth at that position. That means that guys who are on the edges of the rotation could be traded. For players like Jarace Walker or Ben Sheppard, that would also remove the matter of negotiating a rookie scale extension. (More on that to come in a bit!)
If Indiana loses their pick, they’ll be just under the luxury tax. They could still look to shed a little money, because that’s still closer to the tax than they probably want to be. A deal could even be a way for the Pacers to get back into the back half first round of the 2026 Draft, depending on who they’re willing to trade.
Outside of the draft, and potentially moving off some money, this might be a pretty quiet offseason for Indiana. Even their extension-eligible players aren’t overly pressing. Haliburton, Zubac, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin and Johnny Furphy are all eligible for veteran extensions, but all six players have at least two years left on their current deals. That means there’s no real rush to act, even if Indiana has preferred to act early, as seen with Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith in recent years.
Walker and Sheppard are both eligible for rookie scale extensions, but it’s unclear where things stand with either player. Sheppard has been the more consistent contributor over the course of the duo’s three NBA seasons, but Walker has flashed at times, especially this season.
Walker is averaging career-highs in most of the counting stats, but that may be a product of playing a lot more minutes and having a larger role. The 6-foot-7 power wing’s efficiency hasn’t held up with the larger role. That said, Walker has shot 38.8% for his career from behind the arc. That could mean that his ultimate role in the NBA is as a small-ball four who can space the floor. Not what Indiana hoped for when they drafted Walker eighth overall, but not a bust either.
Sheppard hasn’t seen the same jump in his stats as Walker has. But Sheppard’s track record of being a rotation-level wing is longer, as he’s essentially been that throughout his first three NBA seasons. If Sheppard shot or defended better, you could see him growing into a larger 3&D role. As it is, he looks like a solid backup wing and not much more.
Given where Indiana’s payroll is, both in the immediate and over the next several seasons, it’s unlikely the team will extend either Walker or Sheppard. If either player is willing to take a really team-friendly deal, and we have seen more of those over the years, that could change things. But Walker and Sheppard both may want to bet on themselves and see what their final rookie scale season brings before restricted free agency in 2027.
For the Pacers, having a long of long-term money locked in is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing that Indiana has some surety with their roster. The curse comes in that they are expensive and that means having to be cautious with taking on even more long-term money.
Indiana doesn’t need to do a lot this offseason. They’ll enter next year with a healthy Tyrese Haliburton and a deep roster around him. And, if the ping pong balls bounce their way, the Pacers will add a high-potential rookie too. It was a rough year in the Circle City, but by next October, everyone will be ready for this team to make another run at the NBA Finals.