The Pacers’ biggest offseason headache may not be the one everyone expected. Losing Myles Turner to Milwaukee looked like the kind of blow that could reshape Indiana’s front line, but the real issue is what his departure takes with it: shooting.
That matters because Turner wasn’t just a big body. He was part of the spacing that helped Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam get downhill during that Finals run.
Indiana can still put shooters on the floor - Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith are set to return after playing zero and 45 games respectively, while Nembhard and Siakam can both stretch things some. But a shooting big changes the geometry of the offense, and the Pacers no longer have that built in.
There are internal possibilities, too. Jay Huff is at least in the conversation, even if his 31 percent mark from deep last year leaves plenty to be desired. And Siakam playing small-ball five during that playoff run remains part of the equation.
Still, the cleanest answer may come from outside the building.
Indiana already made one major move by trading its 2026 first-round draft pick for Ivica Zubac, a deal that looks incredibly one-sided in Zubac’s favor. The problem is that it solved one issue while creating another. If the Pacers want to patch the shooting gap, they may have to get creative in the trade market rather than chase a perfect Turner replacement.
Nesmith remains one of the league’s better three-and-D players, and his return should help Haliburton feel more comfortable. Kelly Oubre could also offer value as a corner spot-up option. But the Pacers may need more than that if they want a real insurance policy.
One name to watch is Kel'el Ware from the Bucks, a player who could be awkward for Milwaukee’s new rebuild but still bring clear value to Indiana. If the Pacers don’t have the assets to make that happen, a more modest move could still make sense.
Klay Thompson is likely to be bought out by the Dallas Mavericks, and while he’s older and clearly on the decline, there may still be something left there. Jordan Hawkins of the New Orleans Pelicans is another intriguing possibility if Indiana wants to find a bench shooter in the mold of the Obi Toppin steal from the New York Knicks.
The larger point is simple: the Pacers may spend this season feeling the loss of spacing every time they’re forced to play without a shooting center. After a decade of having that luxury, they can’t afford to ignore the problem now. If there’s a “break in case of emergency” move available, Indiana would be wise to make it.
In Other News...
Aaron Nesmith Just Said Something Pacers Fans Will Absolutely Love
Aaron Nesmith has gone from a piece in the Malcolm Brogdon trade to one of the Pacers most dependable two-way wings, the kind of player Indiana can trust to space the floor and take on tough defensive assignments when the games tighten up. He has carved out real value as a classic 3-and-D contributor, and his rise has fit neatly with the Pacers push to build around speed, shooting and versatility.
Nesmiths confidence in where this group is headed is part of what makes him such a popular figure in Indiana right now. After helping the Pacers in recent playoff runs and continuing to shoot well from deep, he recently made it clear he believes this team belongs on the NBAs biggest stage, a bold statement that will only feed the optimism around a roster trying to turn progress into something bigger. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Keep Paying For One Front Office Failure Around Haliburton
Since the Tyrese Haliburton deal reset Indianas timeline, the Pacers have leaned hard on trades to build around him, and the draft has become more of a reminder of what they still need than a source of certainty. Chris Duarte and Domantas Sabonis were both moved as part of that broader reshaping, while first-round swings on Bennedict Mathurin and Jarace Walker were supposed to help supply the next layer of talent for a team trying to stay ahead of the curve.
The problem is that the Pacers have not had many chances to correct course with their own picks, and that matters when the roster still needs another young cornerstone next to Haliburton. Indiana no longer controlled its first-round selections in 2024, which only sharpened the pressure on recent draft decisions and left the front office searching for the kind of homegrown hit that can make the rest of the roster fit together more cleanly. [Read more 🡒]