The Indiana Pacers added another veteran piece Thursday afternoon, signing Larry Nance Jr. to a one-year, $4 million standard contract that will count for $2.4 million against the cap. For a bench that already includes TJ McConnell and Obi Toppin, it’s another move aimed at patching holes with experience and energy.
That’s the real theme here. The Pacers’ signings of Nance Jr. and Kelly Oubre point to a clear priority: they want players who know how to keep things moving and bring some juice when the rotation gets thin.
Nance isn’t the same player he once was. He’s bounced from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Atlanta Hawks to the New Orleans Pelicans in recent years, never lasting more than two seasons with any one team. His second stint in Cleveland last season also came after a major leg injury that may have taken some of the mobility that once made him so useful.
Even so, Indiana can use what he still offers. At the very least, Nance gives the Pacers another body behind Toppin, and the two fit a similar mold as athletic fours who can slide to small-ball five in a pinch. Nance may even be the better defender of the two.
There’s no sugarcoating the downside. A forward who averaged 3.7 points and was a DNP-CD 26 times probably shouldn’t be counted on for much, and that’s a fair read. His time in Cleveland last year was rough.
But the Pacers have a history of squeezing value out of this kind of player, especially with Tyrese Haliburton involved. Indiana has leaned into undersized bigs who can shoot and block shots, from Toppin to Jay Huff, and Nance fits that broader pattern.
Last season made the need for depth impossible to ignore. The Pacers were stripped down not just by Haliburton’s catastrophic injury, but by injuries across the roster and the fact that they never found the right bench help.
There were positives, including a draft pick valuable enough to trade for Ivica Zubac and the chance to watch Jalen Slawson, the current star of the summer league team, thrive. But if anything close to that injury-ravaged season happens again, Indiana will be in serious trouble.
That’s why a move like this matters, even if Nance isn’t a savior. If he’s playing 20-plus minutes a night, the Pacers are in deep trouble. But if he can give them 10 to 15 useful minutes behind the trio of Siakam, Toppin, and Zubac, that could pay off in a big way.
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Pacers GM Just Addressed The Biggest Ivica Zubac Fit Question
Ivica Zubacs arrival at the NBA trade deadline gave the Pacers a different kind of center than the one they had before, and that was always going to raise the biggest fit question. General manager Chad Buchanan said the veteran big man has settled in smoothly, bringing the kind of experience and unselfish approach the organization values, while also acknowledging that Zubac does not play the same way Myles Turner did.
What Indiana believes it is getting instead is a more old-school interior presence who can help in the areas that matter around the margins of a game. Buchanan pointed to Zubacs rebounding, defense, screening and passing as traits that can offset his lack of three-point shooting, and the Pacers are now trying to see how those strengths translate in Rick Carlisles system as the team works through the rest of the season. [Read more 🡒]
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The chatter centers on a return of the gold pinstripe uniforms from the Reggie Miller years, a style that still carries real weight with Pacers fans whenever it comes up. The rumor has not been confirmed, though it picked up steam after a post shared by Polymarket Hoops that traced back to Sneaker Market RO, giving supporters another reason to keep an eye on what Indiana unveils before the new season begins. [Read more 🡒]