In 2023-24, few teams exceeded expectations as much as the Indiana Pacers.
Entering the season seemingly stuck in the middle of the pack, Indiana shot out of a cannon to open up the season, playing a brand of basketball that was fast and full of exciting offensive explosion, even if they didn't always back it up on the defensive end of the court. As the season progressed forward and the team got better, the hype around Rick Carlisle's offense grew more and more with each passing month, as, between their success against the Bucks, their in-season tournament success, and the acquisition of Pascal Siakam, the Pacers found themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals, coming just four wins away from the NBA Finals.
And yet, despite coming so close to greatness earlier this year, the Pacers really didn't do much in free agency, re-signing Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin while adding James Wiseman on a two-year, $4.78 million contract.
Now, for a team like the Pacers who lost Jalen Smith in free agency, bringing in Wiseman to compete with Isaiah Jackson for backup center minutes, but when you consider the Pacers' backup center only played an average of 10.3 minutes per game at the five spot in the playoffs last season, upgrading to that spot – assuming Wiseman is an upgrade – really doesn't move the needle too much either way.
No, when fans around the NBA watched Gary Trent Jr. sign with the Bucks on 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 biannual exception to bring him to town in order to bolster the wings with another smart, speedy player who can let it fly from 3.
Standing 6-foot-5, 209 pounds with six professional seasons under his belt, Trent had a “down year” in 2023-24, averaging just 13.7 points per game after a pair of seasons at roughly 18 points per game, but was still a viable piece for the Raptors as they stepped further towards a rebuild with each passing trade, leading the NBA in open 3 point shooting percentage at 51.3 percent. Granted, Trent didn't do much else, averaging just 5.5 shots per game inside the arc, but when his team needed an open bucket or some rotational defense on the perimeter, the UCLA product was there and played enough of a role that he thought he'd earn a bigger contract than the $18.6 million player option he turned down.
Plant Trent on the Pacers, either coming off the bench or as the starting two guard if that truly was a sticking point, and the former Raptor really could have improved the team's ceiling by a game or two, which may not seem like a lot, but when you consider Ben Sheppard had to start in place of Tyrese Haliburton for Game 3 and Game 4 against the Celtics, could have kept things more competitive as Indiana waited for their All-Star point guard to return to the court.
Pacers GM Chad Buchanan believes in Pascal Siakam
Discussing the big move the Pacers did make, giving Siakam a max contract to remain in Indiana long-term, GM Chad Buchanan explained to the Setting the Pace podcast what he likes about the former Raptor and why the team wanted to keep him around long-term.
“His impact this year was felt immediately from the sense of a guy who’s had a lot of success in his career, who comes into our locker room with instant credibility, and like I told you before, our guys, when anybody talks in our locker room, the eyes are locked in on them. Now you have a guy coming in where there’s instant respect because of what he’s accomplished and the type of player he is on the floor. So you felt his impact right away from a leadership standpoint,” Buchanan told IPacers.
“We were hopeful that the fit was going to be strong because he’s at a position where we’ve kind of been trying to upgrade and improve over the last few years. And his ability to do a lot of different things is the type of player that Rick likes: the guy that can take a defensive rebound and go with it, can post up, can face up at the elbows or the mid-range and create a basket for you. He’s an underrated passer. And he’s just a very difficult cover for defenses.
“We thought if we’re at the kind of point in our season where we’re in this play-in, playoff range, like, does he get us over the hump and to be in as a playoff team? We were hopeful and we thought this is the guy that can help us establish us as a legit playoff team this year. He did exactly that.
“You knew there was going to be games and moments in the playoffs where his experience was going to be needed. And you saw it. There were certain moments where we just had to give him the ball and let him go get a bucket. And he did that. And like I said before, his influence in the locker room was very strong. He had a good voice with the guys. Moving forward, if he’s with us, hopefully he is, that full training camp, full off-season with our guys and a full season only acclimates him and gets him more and more comfortable with our group. And I think he’s got some very, very 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 add a ton of outside talent in free agency, their offseason has to be considered a success because they identified a former All-Pro in his prime, traded for him, and retained him on a long-term contract, which doesn't always happen for a small market team. If Siakam and Haliburton can take a step forward with a full offseason to get acclimated to Carlisle's system, the Pacers may really be onto something this fall.
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