The Pacers made a series of staff moves on Monday, with former NBA guard Jannero Pargo and player development coach Isaac Yacob both elevated to assistant coaches under Rick Carlisle, the team announced in a press release. Pargo’s new role also comes with the title of director of player development.
Indiana’s changes went well beyond those two promotions. Martin Tombe was elevated to assistant coach and player development, Joel Okafor became head video coordinator, Mike Bron was named vice president of player personnel, and KJ Pritchard moved into the role of college scout/director of grassroots scouting. The team also added Ryan Curran as assistant video coordinator and Luca Desta as director of college scouting.
On the floor, the biggest questions remain centered on how the Pacers’ new pieces fit together. Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac still haven’t appeared in a game together, but Zubac doesn’t sound worried about the adjustment period.
After pre-camp scrimmages earlier this month, he said, “It felt really natural for me,” Zubac said of playing with Haliburton in pre-camp scrimmages earlier this month. “It’s never hard playing with smart point guards.
We don’t need much time to gel together.”
At center, Zubac is expected to handle most of the minutes, but Indiana says it has more than one way to cover the position. General manager Chad Buchanan said last week that Jay Huff, Obi Toppin, Jalen Slawson and Larry Nance Jr. all give the Pacers different options at the five.
“ Jay (Huff ’s) there. Obi plays some five,” he said.
“Coach even flirts with Jalen Slawson a little there at the five at times too. Larry (Nance Jr.) just gives us an additional depth.”
James Johnson is another familiar veteran presence in the mix, even if the math doesn’t work for him to open the season on the roster. Indiana is over its first-apron hard cap and can’t carry him on opening night, though Buchanan has indicated Johnson could rejoin the team later in the season.
For now, the Pacers are glad to have him around camp, and Obi Toppin made clear why that matters: “He won’t hold his tongue for anyone,” Pacers forward Obi Toppin said, per Brown. “He knows what we need to be successful.
Even if it’s for a couple days, he’s going to make his presence is known and make sure our team knows what it takes to get to that level.”
The financial picture is also worth watching. Indiana usually stays away from luxury tax penalties, but this season the team is above the tax line and, according to Tony East, is currently projected to be over again in 2027/28. East explored that cap situation in a Forbes story.
And there was one more update worth noting: Haliburton said on Monday that, after the Achilles tear that wiped out the entire 2025/26 season, he is “100%” with “no restrictions” during his media day availability.
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The catch is obvious enough: McBride is with the Knicks, and dealing with a direct rival is never simple. He is also looking for a contract extension, which could force New York into a difficult decision if the price gets too high, but the path from that possibility to an actual move is complicated by how rare these rival-to-rival deals tend to be. [Read more 🡒]
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Haliburton is already extension-eligible despite still having three years left on his deal, which makes the timing of any decision more delicate. Indiana has to weigh the appeal of locking in its centerpiece against the financial risk of acting too early on a player coming off a major injury, especially with recent precedent around similar cases hanging over the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburton Just Changed Everything For The Pacers This Season
Tyrese Haliburton says he is fully healthy and ready for the upcoming NBA season, a significant development for a Pacers team that spent last year without its lead guard because of an Achilles tendon injury. Since signing a five-year contract extension in July 2023, Haliburton has remained central to Indianas long-term plans, and his return changes the look and feel of a roster that has been reshaped around him.
The Pacers have made several roster moves and already have a projected starting lineup for the upcoming season, but Haliburtons availability is the real pivot point for everything. He is also expected to be a starter for the team in the 2026-27 season, which underscores how much Indiana is still building with him at the center, even as the details of how quickly this group clicks remain to be seen. [Read more 🡒]