It's going to be a difficult offseason for the Indiana Pacers as they look to grieve a gut-wrenching 103-91 Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not only are they going to rue the missed opportunity of hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy especially after coming so close yet so far, they are also going to have to navigate a potential long-term absence from Tyrese Haliburton, who suffered an Achilles injury in the early goings of their painful defeat.

Haliburton's injury makes a potential deep playoff run for the Pacers in 2026 that much more unlikely; nothing is guaranteed in the NBA, and it's not at all likely for them to replicate the same magic that they had this year, especially with their best player on the shelf for what looks to be a long period of time.

But there is at least one silver lining that the Pacers can hold on to in the aftermath of Haliburton's injury. They regained control of their 2026 first-round pick (which they traded to the Toronto Raptors in the Pascal Siakam trade) after trading away the 23rd pick of this year's draft, along with the draft rights to Mojave King, to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Pelicans ended up with that pick courtesy of the Brandon Ingram trade, and it was clear that both teams didn't think that the Pacers' selection next season was going to be all that valuable considering what they've accomplished this season. But with Haliburton on the mend, that could change very quickly.

Indiana is still likely to be a playoff team in 2025; their first-half performance in Game 7 against the Thunder showed that they can hang with the best even without their best player. But in the event that everything falls apart for them, they at least have their first-round pick, which they could then use to add another blue-chip prospect to a burgeoning young core.

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Pacers to run it back?

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) is assisted after an apparent injury following a play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center.
Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Even if the Pacers run it back, they have the personnel to hold the fort amid Haliburton's absence. TJ McConnell can be this unstoppable scoring force at times, so even though he does lack the pull-up threat Haliburton has, his downhill acceleration and playmaking should make him a more than capable fill-in for Haliburton in the meantime.

Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard would also have larger offensive workloads, and they showed that they can shine even when the pressure's on. And the pressure will certainly be on for the Pacers as they look to keep in step in the East next season.