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The Indiana Pacers are definitely one team to watch for the 2023-24 campaign. After all, not many pundits expected the Pacers to remain semi-competitive for much of the season, but they did, thanks to the strong play of All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Even Myles Turner and Buddy Hield enjoyed plenty of stretches of inspired play despite finding themselves in trade rumors for the greater part of the 2022-23 season.
But what should set the Pacers apart from other teams in the middle of their rebuilding process is their ability to hit on their draft picks as of late. In 2021, they managed to nab Isaiah Jackson amid the Russell Westbrook trade hullabaloo, while in 2022, the Pacers appear to have hit big time with both of their picks after drafting two youngsters who featured heavily in their rotation throughout the season in Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard. (Even Chris Duarte has the potential to shake off his nightmare of a sophomore season.)
Thus, the Pacers should be able to add to their nascent young core with yet another top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
But as other rebuilding teams have shown, there is tremendous value in keeping around solid veterans to help the youngsters in their development. As some pundits have pointed out, specifically in the Houston Rockets' case, veterans who can mentor young prospects can help build sustainably good habits that will be invaluable once the team decides that the time to contend is now.
With that said, these are two players on the current Pacers roster that the team must re-sign in 2023 NBA free agency.
George Hill
George Hill is no longer the player he once was. At 36 years old, Hill has evidently lost a step, and the rest of his game has followed suit. While he has shown he can still produce offensively in spurts, the defense that made him such a quality starter throughout the years is no longer there. In fact, before getting traded by the Milwaukee Bucks in the deal that brought them Jae Crowder, fans have had just about enough of Hill playing a huge part in their rotation.
But evidently, at this point in Hill's career, his value goes beyond his ability to contribute on the court. There's a reason why the Pacers decided to keep him on the team instead of rolling the dice on perhaps a young player off the G-League, or keeping Goga Bitadze on the roster instead.
George Hill has been part of plenty of contending teams in the past; in fact, prior to this season, Hill has missed the playoffs just once in his career (2014-15 season with the Pacers), ending up with teams with championship ambitions time and time again because of his steady floor general play and ability to complement other ball-dominant stars with his ability to space the floor. So if there's a player who can help re-instill a winning culture in Indiana, it's him.
Moreover, Hill has always been someone his teammates look up to in the locker room, and to his credit, the veteran is more than willing to act a locker room leader for this young Pacers squad.
Hill shouldn't cost too much more than a minimum contract as well, but given the intangibles he will provide the team, he should be very much worth the roster spot.
Oshae Brissett
Oshae Brissett looked like a keeper piece for the Pacers back in his debut season for the team in 2021. Brissett profiled as someone who could impact the game on both ends, able to space the floor and act both as a mobile defensive presence on the perimeter and as an underrated rim protector.
Alas, Brissett simply has not been able to build upon his strong rookie campaign, suffering steep drop-offs in his shooting efficiency and defensive stats. What's more concerning is that as the Pacers' team has gotten worse, Brissett's production dropped off to instead of taking the opportunity he had by the horns.
His 2022-23 campaign, at first glance, doesn't particularly make him a player that the Pacers must pull out all the stops to keep. After all, it's not too enticing to hold on to someone who shot less than 40 percent from the field. But Brissett is still 24, and he could very well find his groove again once the team around him gets better and his life on both ends of the floor gets easier once more.
Similar to Hill, keeping Brissett in Indianapolis shouldn't cost too much, making him a low-risk option for the Pacers in free agency.
