The Indiana Pacers are at the point where Jarace Walker has to become more than a name on the depth chart.
When they took him out of Houston, the idea was easy to see: a strong, versatile forward who could defend, move the ball, and grow into a two-way piece next to Tyrese Haliburton. That version has never really shown up. Walker, the former eighth-overall pick, is now heading into the final season of his rookie deal, and he’s not even in the top eight of the Pacers’ rotation.
That’s a problem, especially for a team that has already moved on from other pieces of its accelerated rebuild. Last year, Indiana said goodbye to another draft miss in the trade for Ivica Zubac.
Walker is now the last of the Pacers’ own lottery picks from that stretch still on the roster. Chris Duarte is out of the league.
Mathurin is still a free agent. It’s just Walker.
And that alone says something about how Indiana still views him. Even after trading for Pascal Siakam to play in front of him, the Pacers kept Walker around.
That means there’s still a belief there. Now it’s time for that belief to start paying off.
The version of Walker Indiana hoped for was built on what he showed at Houston. He could feed shooters, protect the rim from the weak side, and hold up against forwards and even some centers on a nightly basis.
That’s the blueprint. If he can get back to that, it would already be a meaningful step.
The Pacers also need help in a very specific area. A big reason Mathurin looked so good in the Finals against the OKC Thunder was that he could create his own shot while much of the rest of the roster, outside of Haliburton and Siakam, struggled to do it. If Walker could create open threes for Kelly Oubre Jr., Aaron Nesmith, and Andrew Nembhard, that would ease the burden on Haliburton and give Walker a real role.
The problem is that the idea of Walker becoming a true shot-creator probably isn’t realistic anymore. If that was going to be the centerpiece of his development, it likely would have happened already. So the Pacers have to hope there’s something else there.
If not, there’s another path.
Walker could still turn into a player who earns a major payday, either in Indiana or somewhere else. But the Pacers also have the option to treat him as a trade chip. His $13 million expiring deal could have value, and there should be a team willing to take a swing on him as a second-draft type of player.
For Indiana, the smarter move might be to chase someone who lifts both the floor and the ceiling. That means younger talent, not older stopgaps who only help for a year or two. In a trade market like this one, flipping a couple of middling prospects or landing a discarded young player for a modest price could give the Pacers a better bench piece and move them on from the Walker question.
Walker is the last young player on the roster the Pacers might actually be willing to deal. Whether it’s him or someone else, Indiana needs another bench answer.
In Other News...
Pacers Kept Coming Back To One Wing For A Reason
Indiana spent much of the offseason trying to answer a familiar roster question: how to add more reliable wing depth around a team that wants to keep pushing forward. General manager Chad Buchanan said that need sat near the top of the Pacers priorities, and after looking at trades and free agency, the front office kept circling back to Kelly Oubre Jr. as the best fit. His appeal was straightforward enough for a team in Indianas position, with two-way ability, defensive versatility and enough scoring punch to matter on both ends.
Buchanan also pointed to Oubres improved shooting as part of what made him stand out, noting that he is coming off the best three-point season of his career. The Pacers believe there is still room for growth in their system, and they see him as another answer when bigger scoring guards and wings come into view, alongside options such as Aaron Nesmith, Drew Nembhard and Jarace. It is the kind of addition that suggests Indiana is not just filling a spot, but trying to harden a rotation for the grind ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Offseason Is Already Under Fire For One Costly Decision
The Pacers spent the offseason trying to reinforce the edges of a roster that still has real ambition, bringing in Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. on short-term deals after already making a deadline swing for Ivica Zubac. Those moves were meant to give Indiana more depth and flexibility around its core, while the front office also keeps one eye on bigger business with Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, both of whom are in line for possible extensions.
Still, the early reaction has not been especially kind, and the reason goes back to how expensive that Zubac pursuit turned out to be. Indiana paid a premium to make the deal, and with extension talks looming for its top players, every future asset matters a little more now. The question hanging over the Pacers is whether this was the kind of aggressive roster-building that pushes a contender forward, or the sort of move that leaves them paying for it longer than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers May Have Found Their Only Real Championship Blueprint
The Pacers best path forward may not look like the usual NBA championship script. Instead of leaning on a top-five superstar, Indiana has built around balance, depth and the kind of roster that can stay upright long enough to survive a playoff grind. That idea has been reinforced by the teams recent run of success, which has already included one Finals appearance and two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, giving this group a real case that it belongs in the leagues upper tier.
The comparison that keeps coming up is the 2004 Pistons, a title team built around Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace, and powered as much by cohesion as talent. Indianas challenge is similar: stay consistent, avoid the kind of internal turbulence that can derail a contender, and keep presenting the same problem to more star-driven opponents. For the Pacers, that may be the only blueprint that makes sense. [Read more 🡒]