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The Indiana Pacers have had a tough offseason after their NBA Finals loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, losing Myles Turner in free agency and getting the news that Tyrese Haliburton will miss next year with his torn Achilles injury. The Turner news stung in particular due to the fact that he was taking his talents to the Pacers' recent playoff rival, the Milwaukee Bucks, who had cleared cap space by waiving Damian Lillard.
Recently, Haliburton appeared on ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show but didn't partake in the vitriol that some Pacers fans have been spewing toward Turner in the aftermath of his decision.
“Myles Turner did some great things here.. The NBA is a business and he's gotta do what's best for him.. I wish him the best moving forward,” said Haliburton, per Pat McAfee on X, formerly Twitter.
Turner was an important piece for the Pacers this year on a team that made the Finals for the first time in over two decades; however, Turner had a poor NBA Finals performance against the Thunder, which may have made losing him a bit of an easier pill to swallow for Indiana fans.
Where do the Pacers go from here?
With Haliburton out and Turner gone without a compatible replacement, it wouldn't appear likely that the Pacers have a real chance of competing for anything meaningful in 2025-26 (although the same thing was said about them entering 2024-25 and they proved that wrong in epic fashion).
It's unlikely that the Pacers will bottom out completely this year, as the team still has several talented players on its roster and arguably the league's best head coach in Rick Carlisle.
The fact that the Eastern Conference is currently riddled with injuries to star players should also help keep them from freefalling.
The most likely scenario is that the Pacers use this year to help continue to mold some of their younger talent, including Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, and Johnny Furphy, who had an impressive showing with the team at Summer League.
If those pieces can continue to develop this year, the Pacers should be able to return right back into contention once Haliburton returns from his injury in 2026-27.
