Indiana Pacers' Top 3 Priorities During 2026 NBA Offseason
The conclusion of the Indiana Pacers' gap year comes with both relief and pressure. The strain of playing games with zero stakes, since injuries destroyed an already thinned roster in November, is over, and you can bet head coach Rick Carlisle is among those rejoicing.
At the same time, Indy heads into the offseason with a tall task ahead of it: Regain its status as a championship contender.
In the wake of a snoozy season where the toughest call was often which fringe NBA prospect to sign to a 10-day deal, the 2025 Eastern Conference champs have their eyes on another trip to the Finals in 2027.
All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton should be back in form after missing the entire season with an Achilles tear, and trade-deadline acquisition Ivica Zubac will be the other bookend to a starting five that should be able to compete with anyone.
Let's see where Indiana needs to direct the rest of its attention in what will be a hugely consequential summer.
3. Consolidation
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Indiana prefers to avoid paying the luxury tax, but the addition of a top-four pick will put it beyond that mark and all the way over the first apron. One might point out that if the Pacers are actually serious about getting back to the contender class, that's the cost of doing business.
Indiana can still trim some money if it wants to, and that process could start by trading a couple of young players it doesn't see as long-term fits worthy of extensions. Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, we're looking at you. Potentially.
Walker and Sheppard can both sign rookie-scale extensions this summer, but neither used Indy's gap year to solidify his place in the rotation going forward. Sheppard at least proved useful when the Pacers were last relevant, but the presence of Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, TJ McConnell and a top-four pick next to Haliburton means minutes may be hard to come by. Should Indy select Dybantsa, Boozer or Wilson, Walker would have a similarly hard time carving out a role up front.
Rebuilding teams should be interested in both Sheppard and Walker, though the Pacers could also entertain trades to get Obi Toppin's $15 million 2026-27 salary off the books.
2. Draft Decision
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Indiana's first-round draft pick is only partially within its control. It'll go to the LA Clippers if it falls between No. 5 and No. 9, a more likely outcome than it seems as the Pacers' bottom-three record only gives that selection a 52.1 percent chance of landing in the top four.
Assuming the Pacers keep the pick, they'll have to decide whether using it on one of this year's top prospects or trading it as part of a package for win-now help makes the most sense. Of course, Indiana will open up a whole other decision tree if it opts to make the selection. Will it go for scoring wings like Darryn Peterson or AJ Dybantsa, or will it lean toward frontcourt help from Cam Boozer or Caleb Wilson?
That decision might be simplified for the Pacers if they land at No. 4. Even then, the debate over the best use of that asset will be Indiana's first real offseason crossroads.
Normally, you'd expect a contender to flip that pick in a package for a starter. But the Pacers have historically been more conservative with their draft moves. They could certainly justify a draft-and-develop strategy, particularly if they think the competitive window of its Haliburton-Zubac-Pascal Siakam core will be open for another three or four years.
1. Evaluate Haliburton Honestly
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Haliburton is the key to the Pacers retaking their place as an Eastern Conference power, and they'll need to soberly determine whether he can captain an elite offense after missing all of 2025-26. Jayson Tatum's excellent form with the Boston Celtics is a good sign. If Tatum looks pretty much like himself after less than a year off, Haliburton, who suffered the same injury, should be all the way back by the start of next season.
Indiana can't just see what it wants to see in its best player, though. It will have to be as unbiased in its evaluation as possible because Haliburton's form needs to weigh into every other offseason decision.
We'll discuss a draft-night conundrum momentarily, and Hali's health will be central to the Pacers' decision on how to use their first-round pick.
Any doubts about his post-injury capabilities could lead to the Pacers keeping their pick and re-orienting the franchise around that new addition.
Everything starts with Haliburton. Before the Pacers do anything else, they need to establish clear expectations for their best player.
Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.
Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.
