The Indiana Pacers may be staring at one of those strange roster problems that sounds good on paper and gets ugly in real life: what if the young players finally pop, but the money makes it impossible to keep them?
That’s the bind with Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard. They’re the last draft picks left from the Pacers’ rebuild, and both have become useful bench pieces.
A breakout from either one would normally feel like a clean win. Here, it could turn into a headache.
Walker and Sheppard are set to be free agents next summer, and Indiana’s cap situation leaves little room to maneuver. The Pacers are just 2.2 million under the first apron this season, and with very little money coming off the books for next year, they’ll have only 18 million in space below the first apron to re-sign either player. If one or both take a leap, Indiana may have to decide between pushing in for the present or giving up future flexibility by moving a player it can’t afford to keep.
And that’s before the long-term squeeze really hits.
By the end of the 2027-28 season, of the Pacers’ eight expected rotation players - not counting Walker or Sheppard - all but three are expected to be unrestricted free agents. That number probably shrinks to two once TJ McConnell is factored in, since he’ll be 37 as a 6'1 guard with only a partial guarantee.
Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith are the only players expected to remain. Everyone else in the key group - Ivica Zubac, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Obi Toppin, and Kelly Oubre - is heading toward free agency. And with four starters in line for major new contracts, Indiana has to ask how many of them it can realistically hold onto.
That’s where the Walker question gets even sharper. If he’s gone, the Pacers are looking at a serious shortage of forward depth. In that scenario, can they really afford to lose Obi Toppin too?
Then there’s the backcourt puzzle. If Haliburton is the centerpiece, does it make sense to pay another guard who brings playmaking and likes to hunt his own shot?
Those are the kinds of questions that leave no easy answer. Indiana can’t pay everybody, and it can’t keep watching useful talent leave without any way to replace it.
The Pacers have never been a luxury tax team, but in today’s NBA, trying to contend without spending heavily looks harder by the year. With the financial pressure building on multiple fronts, this stretch of the franchise’s run suddenly feels like it has a clock on it.
Walker and Sheppard may just be the first cracks in the dam.
In Other News...
Pacers Face One Painful Roster Decision After Their Finals Run
Indianas run to the Finals reshaped the conversation around its roster, but it also left the front office with a familiar kind of pressure. The Pacers added Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. in free agency, then tried to keep pushing forward after a difficult season without Tyrese Haliburton, who had been at the center of their strong 2024-25 campaign before the Achilles injury that ended his Finals run. Add in the cost of the Ivica Zubac deal, which included future first-round picks, and the long-term picture already feels more complicated than the box score of a deep playoff run might suggest.
Now comes the part Indiana usually tries to manage without crossing its financial comfort zone. The Pacers have generally steered clear of luxury-tax territory, and according to NBA insider Eric Pincus, that could lead to a trade aimed at trimming salary as the offseason unfolds. With contract-extension questions also looming for Pascal Siakam and Haliburton, the roster may need another round of hard choices before the front office can decide how aggressively it wants to keep building on last springs success. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Clearly Want Braden Smith But One Roster Issue Still Looms
A new ruling out of Colorado added another layer to Braden Smiths path this week, opening the door for certain athletes to take a fifth collegiate season. For the Pacers, though, the more immediate issue is much more ordinary: Smith is already moving toward the pros, and Indiana has not yet finalized a contract as it continues sorting through its roster picture.
The front office has made clear it likes Smith and sees a development path for him, with the expectation that he would spend a lot of time with the Noblesville Boom. The sticking point is roster space on the two-way side, where the Pacers already have their current allotment filled, leaving them with a decision to make before they can bring Smith in on that type of deal. [Read more 🡒]