The Indiana Pacers are basically done with their offseason housekeeping, but one awkward little item is still hanging over everything: Braden Smith.
By now, the draft is long in the rearview, Kelly Oubre and Larry Nance Jr. have their deals, and even the new jerseys have already been revealed and celebrated. But Indiana still has two unresolved pieces left - the final roster spot and the status of second-round pick Braden Smith.
That last opening was widely expected to go to summer league standout Jalen Slawson, but his return on a two-way contract changed the picture. Now the Pacers still have that 15th roster spot sitting there, and in theory they could use it on a free agent or another low-risk swing.
The catch is Smith.
Indiana traded Kam Jones and a future second-round pick to move up for the Purdue guard, with the expectation that he and Quenton Jackson would battle for the third-string point guard job. Smith even played in Las Vegas earlier this month despite still being unsigned, but the results were rough. The Pacers went 2-3, and Smith’s showing didn’t exactly make the decision easier.
If he had flashed more in summer league, the path would be cleaner. Indiana could cut one of Kobe Brown or Ethan Thompson, sign Smith, and move on. That would be a tough call, but at least it would be a straightforward one.
Instead, the problem is that Brown and Thompson may still be more useful than a 5'10 point guard who cannot score, shoot, or defend.
So where does that leave the Pacers?
One option is the simplest: sign an outside free agent to the final standard deal, then cut one of the two-way players to make room for Smith. That would give Indiana the slightly better talent and keep the roster moving forward.
The wild option would be to give up on Smith altogether and keep the two-way spots intact. That would mean walking away from the 38th overall pick, though the source of this mess makes clear that outcome is not expected.
The least dramatic path is to leave the final roster spot open for now, preserve flexibility for the buyout market or a midseason trade, and then eventually turn it into a standard deal for one of the G-League players, most likely Slawson, if nothing else materializes.
None of those choices looks disastrous. At worst, Indiana would simply have wasted an early second-round pick, and that’s hardly unheard of.
The real frustration is the delay. Smith is going to be signed; the question is when, not if. But every route the Pacers take seems to cost more than it gives back, which is why this whole thing has turned into such a strange, messy standstill.
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Tyrese Haliburtons return looms as one of the biggest reasons Indiana can reasonably expect improvement, alongside the simple hope that the rotation stays healthy enough to hold together. Beyond that, the path gets narrower, because there does not appear to be a major free agent still out there who would meaningfully change the outlook, which puts even more pressure on internal development to carry the season forward. [Read more 🡒]