Hanifan's Offseason Outlook: Evaluating the Indiana Pacers' offseason

For our second annual offseason outlook series, Hot Hot Hoops senior writer Matt Hanifan will provide his take on the offseasons of all 30 teams for the next 30 days! We will proceed in alphabetical order, starting with the Eastern Conference. Today, we will be evaluating the Indiana Pacers’ offseason.

Past Previews:

Sept. 1: Atlanta Hawks
Sept. 2: Boston Ce l tics
Sept. 3: Brooklyn Nets
Sept. 4: Charlotte Hornets
Sept. 5: Chicago Bulls
Sept. 6: Cleveland Cavaliers
Sept. 7: Detroit Pistons

Evaluating the Indiana Pacers’ 2025 offseason:

Additions: James Wiseman, James Huff

Subtractions: Myles Turner, Thomas Bryant (free agent), James Johnson, Enrique Freeman

Re-signed: Isaiah Jackson, Quenton Jackson

Draft: Kam Jones (No. 38 overall), Taelon Peter (No. 54)

Hanifan’s outlook: The Indiana Pacers took yet another leap last season, putting together another phenomenal postseason run. They were one game away from winning the franchise’s first-ever NBA championship — which few, if any, expected heading into the playoffs. But they weren’t able to outlast the Oklahoma City Thunder, and star point guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

You could argue that Haliburton’s injury changed the course of how they operated this offseason. Before, they were reportedly willing to exceed the luxury tax for the first time in two decades for Myles Turner. Now, he is no longer in town, signing with Milwaukee. The Pacers now have a hodge podge of below-average centers, but they largely kept most of their core in tact otherwise.

Hanifan’s Offseason Outlook: Evaluating the Detroit Pistons’ offseason

It’s been a quiet summer for them. Next year is expected to be a “gap year,” but I still think they will be a feisty group in what’s viewed as a wide-open East. I don’t think either of their two draft picks make much an impact in year 1; there’s an argument for Jones, but he’s going to have to consistently knock down open 3s. He’s not athletic nor an advantage exploiter, but he was an excellent playmaker in his final season at Marquette.

All in all, their offseason felt incomplete. But I understand why they didn’t make any panic moves. That said, I don’t like letting Turner walk without any replacement — a move that could hurt them down the road, given they’re not typically a free agent destination relative to teams in larger markets.