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For the first time since 2000, the Indiana Pacers find themselves in the NBA Finals. Just one year after shocking many and battling the Boston Celtics in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, the Pacers have proven their championship pedigree by running things back and becoming one of the final two teams standing.
Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam have put Indiana in a position where they could realistically claim their first championship in team history.
Although the Oklahoma City Thunder have been the best team in the NBA all year, they are still a young and inexperienced team. That is where the Pacers' experience could factor into this championship series, as Haliburton, Siakam, and even Myles Turner have been in the league for years.
No matter what the result is — championship or no championship — the Pacers will enter the summer with key questions to answer about their roster. Indiana has not paid the luxury tax in 20 years, which has raised obvious questions around the league about the futures of Turner, who will be a free agent, and other talents like Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, and Andrew Nembhard.
Now that the Pacers have emerged as a true NBA championship contender, owner Herb Simons may be more willing than ever to spend a little extra and keep this team together.
“From what I am told, the hope and belief and whatever is that ownership will green light them going a little bit into the tax for a little while,” Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on his Hoop Collective podcast. This comes in the wake of reports surfacing around the trade deadline suggesting that Indiana would need to move contracts in the offseason to make room for a new deal with Turner, who the Pacers hope to retain.
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Not even factoring in the Finals and what could potentially happen, the Pacers will enter the offseason with 11 players under contract, including Tony Bradley with his $2.9 million team option. Turner, Thomas Bryant, Isaiah Jackson, and James Johnson will be the organization's only free agents.
Right now, the Pacers will carry an active roster payroll of $167.9 million into the summer after the NBA Finals, meaning that a new, long-term contract to retain Turner would push the Pacers dangerously close to the tax line.
While Indiana has historically done everything it can to dodge the tax, including this season, it's obviously not a bad idea for Simons to pay up and simply keep his team together, assuming that's what the front office is asking. It makes even more sense to run things back, win or lose in the Finals since the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are expected to take a step back during the 2025-26 season in the East.
The Pacers have proven to be an elite team with championship potential. Should it cost a little bit more than usual to keep this team together so be it.
