Aaron Nesmith may be the Pacers’ cleanest answer if the East keeps getting bigger.
Indiana already knows what it has in Nesmith: a returning three-and-D wing who missed under 50 games for a team that finished 19-63, and one of the few pieces outside Tyrese Haliburton that the Pacers can count on to slide back into the lineup and matter right away. His value is obvious in the way he fits the system, spacing the floor and defending on the wing. But in a conference that may be shifting toward size, he could matter for a different reason, too.
Cleveland’s move for Peyton Watson changed the conversation around its roster. The Cavaliers had been built in the familiar way - a point guard who passes, a shooting guard who shoots, and wings and bigs doing wing and big things.
Watson changes that formula. With Watson, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, the Cavs can lean into a supersized look that could let them bully teams and protect the paint, or it could become the kind of bold experiment that exposes them.
If that is the direction Cleveland wants to go to deal with teams like the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, Indiana has to think about how to answer it.
The Pacers do not really have another big or power forward option waiting in the wings. Jarace Walker is the only real possibility, but right now he is viewed by the analytics as one of the worst players in basketball. That leaves Indiana looking elsewhere, and the most practical place to find extra size is on the perimeter.
That is where Nesmith comes in. Moving him up to shooting guard would create the size upgrade the Pacers need by replacing Andrew Nembhard’s 6'4, relatively slender frame. It would also not be new territory for Nesmith, who played that spot in college at Vanderbilt.
He has added muscle to handle life at small forward, but he still has the quickness and mobility to survive in a more active offensive role. And if he has already been asked to function as a lockdown defender, giving him more responsibility on offense could be a welcome shift.
The real question would be what Indiana does with the small forward spot if Nesmith moves over. The options are there, but they are murky.
Ben Sheppard could bring a more defensive profile and a little more size. Kelly Oubre Jr. could theoretically arrive from free agency and step right into a starting role.
Max Christie could be pursued if the deal does not strip the Pacers’ asset stockpile.
Still, the likeliest answer is that Indiana may not want to chase that kind of makeover at all. This roster is built to go small, especially with Pascal Siakam at center, and the Pacers have little reason to start copying an opponent’s strength when their own setup already points in another direction.
But the playoffs demand answers, and they demand flexibility. Cleveland now has a clear identity. Indiana’s identity is still tied to the basics of the game, and the Pacers are described here as the most regular team around - not because they lack talent, but because they have not yet found a more imaginative way to put it together.
The message is simple: if big-ball lineups keep spreading in the East, Indiana has to be ready. If it isn’t, the season could end badly.
In Other News...
Pacers Fans Finally Have A New Way To Watch This Season
After a season in which many Pacers fans had to piece together how and where to follow the team, there is finally a clearer local viewing option on the horizon. Indianas new broadcast partnership with DAZN gives the fan base another way to watch the Pacers this season, a welcome bit of stability for a team that has spent enough time lately giving people reasons to circle dates and tune in.
The arrangement matters because local access has become part of the modern NBA experience, and Pacers followers have been looking for a cleaner solution. While other league news has centered on contract standoffs and summer development stories around the conference, this is the kind of off-court change that can still shape how a season feels from the start, especially for fans who just want a reliable way to keep up every night. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Linked To Veteran Reunion That Could Help A Finals Push
The Pacers roster shuffle left them with a little flexibility, and that has naturally turned attention toward a familiar face. After waiving Ethan Thompson and signing Braden Smith to a two-way contract, Indiana still has an open spot, and James Johnson has emerged as a possible reunion candidate for a club trying to keep its rotation steady while staying in the mix for a Finals push.
Johnson is the sort of veteran addition teams tend to revisit when the games get bigger and the margin for error gets smaller. He has bounced around the league, has already given Indiana a useful bench presence before, and brings the kind of leadership and locker room value that can matter as much as on-court minutes in a deep postseason run. Whether the Pacers decide to go that route remains the part worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Still Need Johnny Furphy To Answer One Lingering Bench Question
Johnny Furphys second NBA season has offered a little more runway, but not nearly enough clarity for the Pacers to feel settled about his role. The former Kansas second-round pick has appeared in 85 of a possible 164 games over his first two years, and last Februarys ACL injury only added another layer of interruption to a development path that has already been uneven. Indiana has seen enough to keep him in the conversation as a backup wing, especially with his size and youth, but the overall package still feels more like a work in progress than a finished rotation piece.
The encouraging part is that Furphy has handled more minutes and shown some scoring growth when hes been on the floor. The part Indiana still needs answered is whether the shot can become reliable enough to translate those flashes into steady NBA production. Until that happens, his case is less about what he has already become and more about whether he can prove he belongs in a bench role the Pacers can actually count on. [Read more 🡒]