Jarace Walker came into this season with breakout buzz, but the Pacers forward has done little with the chances in front of him.
The former No. 8 pick, selected eighth overall in 2023, has been underwhelming from the start of his NBA career. Ben Sheppard, his draft-classmate, has also fallen short, but at least his struggles come with the built-in excuse of injury. Walker has stayed on the floor and still hasn’t shown much growth.
That gap matters even more now. With injuries taking out more than half of Indiana’s roster, Walker has had more room to carve out a real role than ever before.
Instead, he has been turning in the kind of performances that do little for his standing with the team. The effort, the consistency, and the overall impact have all been lacking.
With his rookie contract set to expire after this season, this was supposed to be the stretch where Walker played with urgency and forced the Pacers to think about a second deal. That hasn’t happened. In context and on its own, the production has been disappointing.
The bigger issue is that the player Indiana thought it was getting out of Houston - a fiery, passionate connector - doesn’t seem to be showing up. Time will tell whether Walker becomes an NBA impact player at all, and being a top-10 pick usually buys a player enough runway to get another shot somewhere else. But that path appears closed in Indiana, which leaves the Pacers looking for another answer.
That answer is already on the roster.
Jalen Slawson has given the Pacers exactly the kind of buy-in and energy that makes role players stick. He may not always fill up the box score, but he jumps off the screen. He fights through screens, chases loose balls, and brings relentless effort on the glass.
Even though Slawson was the team’s leading option in Las Vegas Summer League, he has settled in nicely as a complementary piece. He’s hitting threes at a near-average clip, holding up defensively, and showing some promise when attacking closeouts.
That contrast is what makes Walker’s situation so frustrating. Walker had a bigger on-ball role in college, but he was still expected to thrive in a version of the job he’s now supposed to handle in the NBA.
For a top prospect, it should not be this hard. And if a G-League player who was cut twice can embrace those responsibilities this quickly, the question around Walker only gets sharper.
For Indiana, the picture is getting clearer by the day. And for Walker, that clarity is not flattering.
In Other News...
Pacers Suddenly Have A Bright Spot They Desperately Needed
With the Pacers down to only six available players, Quenton Jackson gave them the kind of jolt they have been searching for in a difficult stretch. He scored 20 points in a narrow 108-104 loss to the Hawks, while also filling up the box score with seven rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks, a reminder that even in a short-handed game there can still be a player who swings the tone of the night.
Jackson has now scored 56 points over Indiana's last three games, and his recent move from a two-way deal to a standard contract only adds to the significance of what he's doing right now. The Pacers still came up short, but the effort and energy he pointed to afterward mattered for a team trying to survive with a thin roster and find a little stability wherever it can. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Just Gave Fans A Real Reason To Debate This Lineup
The Pacers got a useful look at a lineup that has been under the microscope, and the result was encouraging enough to keep the conversation going. In a 107-103 win over Memphis, Indiana got a steady scoring night from Andrew Nembhard, who led the way with 22 points, while Pascal Siakam added 20 as the team continued to manage his workload.
Just as important, the Pacers defense had enough bite to make the night feel like more than a regular-season stopover. Memphis was held to 12-of-44 from three-point range, and with Ivica Zubac back in the starting group after an ankle injury, Indiana suddenly has a fresh lineup wrinkle to weigh as the season moves on. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Suddenly Look Far More Vulnerable Without Tyrese Haliburton
Tyrese Haliburtons left hamstring strain has quickly changed the feel around Indiana, because even a short absence takes away the engine that makes the Pacers offense hum. He is expected to miss around two weeks, and with him out the margin for error gets a lot thinner for a team that has leaned so heavily on his pace, passing and ability to organize everything on the floor.
The timing matters even more because Indiana is already carrying other roster concerns, including Ivica Zubacs left ankle issue after a season in which he has been limited to a handful of games. The Pacers also no longer control their 2026 first-round pick because of the protections attached to the trade that brought Zubac from the Clippers, which only heightens the pressure to keep this group afloat while Haliburton is sidelined. [Read more 🡒]