The Indiana Pacers were not expected to make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals this season. It was an overwhelmingly successful season for this franchise, which rebuilt itself on the fly. They have two All-NBA players in Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, both of whom were acquired via trades. Those two are surrounded by ascending young players, many of whom are on their rookie contracts. Indiana has too many young players to play. That's why Jalen Smith could be a candidate to get traded by the Pacers in the 2024 NBA offseason.
Three-and-D forward
Jalen Smith is no scrub. He posted career-highs in field goal percentage (59.2%) and three-point percentage (42.4%) in what has been his best season as a pro. On a per-36-minute basis, Smith was by far the most productive he's been in the league this year as well. He averaged 20.7 points, 11.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 0.6 steals within those parameters.
The area where Smith really stepped up his play was on the defensive end of the floor. Smith mainly was the backup center for Myles Turner but he spent a fair amount of time at the power forward spot as well. He shined in both positions. Smith proved that he can defend on the perimeter and stick in front of smaller guards and wings.
When he did man the center spot, Smith did a good job of anchoring the paint as well. He had no problem meeting offensive players at the summit and sending them backward.
Smith is a good player, but unfortunately, his playing time dipped tremendously in the playoffs. He went from 17.2 minutes per game in the regular season to just six in the playoffs. He only played in seven of Indiana's 17 playoff games and exceeded double-digit minutes in two of them. One of those games was the Game 4 thrashing the Pacers gave the New York Knicks with Smith checking in during garbage time.
Smith is a solid player, but there's a reason why he fell out of the Pacers' rotation. It doesn't even have much to do about him. Indiana simply has a lot of frontcourt options.
Loaded frontcourt depth
The Pacers truly had too many players to play in their frontcourt during the playoffs. Obviously, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner were going to start games for them and play a big part on both ends. Smith was never going to take minutes away from them.
But the Pacers got more pop and energy from guys like Obi Toppin and Isaiah Jackson off the bench. Both were excellent for Indiana during their playoff run, but Toppin especially shined in his limited minutes. He averaged 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, and three assists per 36 minutes in the postseason. His offensive versatility off the bench was a big lift during Indiana's playoff run.
The Pacers do face a bit of a roster crunch this offseason in regards to their frontcourt. Siakam will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason while Toppin will be restricted. Indiana should be able to retain both if they want. Siakam will ask for the max but after trading three first-round picks to get him, it seems like a formality that the Pacers pay him what he wants.
Toppin is the tougher situation to parse. He is poised for a solid payday as well, and it might be one the Pacers can't afford. Though they have Toppin's bird rights, they will need to maintain some flexibility for future extensions elsewhere. Turner is a free agent next season. Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin will be extension-eligible soon too.
Indiana got ahead of this conundrum with its selection of Jarace Walker in the first round of last year's draft. The Pacers could slot Walker in Toppin's slot and look to trade Smith as he enters the last year of his contract before a player option for next season.
That would seem prudent for both sides. Smith can help a team now and the Pacers shouldn't lose him for nothing. Of the players on Indiana's roster, he seems the most likely to get traded
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