In 2023-24, few teams have exceeded expectations as much as the Indiana Pacers.
Indiana, which began the season seemingly stuck in the middle of the pack, came out firing to open the season, playing a style of basketball that was fast-paced and full of exciting offensive explosions, even if they didn’t always back it up on the defensive end of the floor. As the season progressed and the team improved, the hype surrounding Rick Carlisle’s offense grew more and more with each passing month as, between their success against the Bucks, their success in the season-ending tournament, and the acquisition of Pascal Siakam, the Pacers found themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals, falling just four wins away from the NBA Finals.
And yet, despite coming so close to greatness earlier this year, the Pacers didn’t really do much in free agency, re-signing Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin while adding James Wiseman on a two-year, $4.78 million deal.
Now, for a team like the Pacers that lost Jalen Smith in free agency, bringing in Wiseman is going to compete with Isaiah Jackson for minutes as a backup center, but when you consider that the Pacers’ backup center only played an average of 10.3 minutes per game in the fifth seed in the playoffs last season, moving up to that spot — assuming Wiseman is an upgrade — doesn’t really move the needle too much either way.
No, when NBA fans watched Gary Trent Jr. sign with the Bucks for the minimum to start at the two-guard spot, more than a few fans in the Hoosier State openly wondered why the Pacers didn’t offer the former Raptor a few million more via their non-taxpayer mid-level exception or even the $4.7 million bi-annual exception to bring him to town to bolster the wings with another smart, quick player who can shoot from the 3.
Listed at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds with six pro seasons under his belt, Trent had an “off year” in 2023-24, averaging just 13.7 points per game after a pair of seasons where he averaged roughly 18 points per game, but he was still a viable piece for the Raptors, who took a step closer to a rebuild with each pass-rush, leading the NBA in open 3-point shooting percentage at 51.3 percent. Admittedly, Trent didn’t do much else, averaging just 5.5 shots per game inside the arc, but when his team needed an open basket or some rotational defense on the perimeter, the UCLA product was there and played a big enough role that you figured he’d earn a bigger contract than the $18.6 million player option he turned down.
Had Trent been on the Pacers, either coming off the bench or as the starting two-guard if that had truly been a sticking point, the former Raptor could have really improved the team’s ceiling by a game or two, which may not seem like much, but when you consider that Ben Sheppard had to start in place of Tyrese Haliburton for Game 3 and Game 4 against the Celtics, it could have kept things more competitive while Indiana waited for its All-Star point guard to return to the court.
Pacers GM Chad Buchanan believes in Pascal Siakam
Speaking about the big move the Pacers made, giving Siakam a max contract to stay in Indiana long-term, general manager Chad Buchanan explained to the Setting the pace podcast about what he likes about the former Raptor and why the team wanted to keep him long-term.
“His impact this year was felt immediately as a guy who has had a lot of success in his career, who walks into our locker room with instant credibility and, as I told you before, when someone speaks in our locker room, our guys just stare at them. Now we have a guy who walks in and has instant respect for what he’s accomplished and the type of player he is on the court. So we felt his impact right away from a leadership standpoint,” Buchanan told IPacers.
“We were hoping he would be a good fit because he’s in a position that we’ve been trying to get better and better at over the last few years. And his ability to do a lot of different things is the type of player Rick likes — the guy who can grab a defensive rebound and run with it, can post up, can take you on with his elbows or midrange and create a basket for you. He’s an underrated passer. And he’s a very tough coverage for defenses.
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“We thought if we’re at a point in our season where we’re in the play-in, play-off zone, is he going to help us get over the hump and into the play-offs? We were hopeful and thought this is the guy that can help us establish ourselves as a legitimate play-off team this year. He did exactly that.
“We knew there would be games and times in the playoffs where his experience would be needed. And we saw that. There were certain times where we just had to give him the ball and let him go get a basket. And he did. And like I said before, his influence in the locker room was very strong. He had a good voice with the guys. Looking forward, if he’s with us, which I hope he is, that full training camp, full preseason with our guys and a full season will just get him acclimated and make him more and more comfortable with our group. And I think he’s got some really, really good years ahead of him. People talk about his age, but I think his best years are still ahead of him.”
Even if the Pacers didn’t bring in a ton of outside talent in free agency, their offseason should be considered a success because they identified a former All-Pro in his prime, acquired him in a trade, and kept him on a long-term contract, which doesn’t always happen for a small-market team. If Siakam and Haliburton can step up with a full offseason to get acclimated to Carlisle’s system, the Pacers may really be on to something this fall.
