The Pacers have had enough trouble turning draft picks into real difference-makers, and the Noblesville Boom haven’t exactly helped clean that up.
Recent selections like Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard have been solid enough, but neither has broken through as anything close to a headliner. Andrew Nembhard stands as the one real success story since Indiana drafted Myles Turner in 2015. From lottery picks to second-rounders, the draft record has been thin.
Some of that falls on Indiana’s roster situation. The Pacers have been good enough that they haven’t always had the luxury of letting young players learn on the fly. But that only makes the G-League affiliate more important, and Noblesville has not given the Pacers much to build on.
Right now, the only player on the Boom roster who really sparks optimism is Jalen Slawson, who is on a two-way deal after a strong summer league showing. Even that small bright spot comes with a catch, because Taelon Peter, the team’s fourth-leading scorer, was cut this offseason. Ethan Thompson is gone too, after signing with a Serbian team and asking for his release.
That kind of turnover is normal in the G-League. Fringe prospects rarely stay put for long.
But the issue here is bigger than churn. Indiana should be getting more value from its affiliate, the way other teams have.
The Thunder just won a title with a core that included several players who spent real time in the G-League. Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein, Alex Caruso, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins all turned themselves into rotation pieces by proving they could handle bigger roles. The Raptors did something similar years ago with Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, both of whom used larger G-League responsibilities to sharpen their games.
By comparison, Noblesville has kept former Golden State Warriors swingman Jordan Bell around for more than three years.
The player whose development feels most tied to this whole conversation is Jarace Walker. He was supposed to grow into the kind of player Indiana projected when it got him out of Houston, and that hasn’t happened yet. If Toronto could help mold Siakam, it’s hard to feel great about where the Pacers are with Walker.
To be fair, Indiana has had a few developmental wins of its own. Tyrese Haliburton showed he can be the kind of number-one option a title team can lean on in 2024-25.
Aaron Nesmith went from out of Boston’s rotation to a strong three-and-D wing in Indiana. Andrew Nembhard was a second-round pick.
But in an NBA where cheap talent matters more than ever, teams need their pipeline to work. The Pacers have not done enough there, and the Boom are part of the problem.
In Other News...
Pacers Face A Tough TJ McConnell Decision This Season
TJ McConnell has become one of the defining constants of the Pacers recent run, the longest-tenured player on a roster that keeps evolving around him. He is also heading into the season carrying a significant salary, which has put an uncomfortable layer of roster math around a player whose value has long gone beyond box scores. For Indiana, the question is no longer whether McConnell matters. It is how much flexibility the front office is willing to chase, even if it means considering a move involving one of the teams most trusted voices.
The appeal of dealing McConnell is straightforward enough: it could open up room to reshape the roster and potentially bring back multiple assets instead of relying on one veteran point guard to hold things together. The problem is equally clear. Replacing what he brings is not easy, especially for a team that has leaned on his leadership, steadiness and institutional memory. So the Pacers are left weighing a familiar dilemma, keeping the player who helps define their identity or using that very value to build something more balanced around the edges. [Read more 🡒]
Tyrese Haliburtons Return Just Sparked A Pacers Respect Debate
Tyrese Haliburton is finally set to return to NBA action after a 16-month absence because of an Achilles injury, and for the Pacers, that should have been the headline. Instead, the conversation around his comeback has drifted toward visibility, with Indianas star guard publicly questioning why his first game back is not getting a national TV window, even though the Pacers do have 11 nationally televised games on their schedule this season.
His return will come on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans, a setting that makes the moment feel even bigger for Indiana and its fans who have waited more than a year to see him back in game action. The odd part is that the league and broadcast partners did not put the comeback on a national stage, leaving a familiar Pacers frustration hanging over what should have been a clean celebration of Haliburtons return. [Read more 🡒]