Ever since the Tyrese Haliburton trade in 2022, I’ve been trying to get this message across: The Pacers are on their way up.
That trade signified the beginning of something entirely new for the franchise. No more attempts of just being a playoff team and thinking that’s good enough. No more “tough-out” kind of mindset. And no more seasons of being in the dreaded middle of “not being good enough to matter, but not being bad enough to get a high draft pick.”
The second Haliburton got here, everything changed. And now, this is a roster filled with young talent, amazing team chemistry, an exciting brand of basketball, and quite possibly the brightest future the franchise has seen in decades in terms of expected longevity.
Because of the young talent and assets they’ve been building over the last few years, they put themselves in a position to strike in the trade market- another change of pace the fans aren’t used to. Adding Pascal Siakam to this team is a huge move in more ways than one. Yes, it makes this year’s team even more dangerous. But it also signals a message to the rest of the league, to future free agents, and yes, to the fans: The Pacers are coming.
Things can change from now until the summer, but all signs are pointing to Siakam wanting to be in Indiana long term. He even told us that all he needs is a nice house and that’s good enough for him, because he doesn’t do much else other than basketball. He may have been hinting that he doesn’t need the desired beach or big city location to be happy. It doesn’t hurt that the Pacers will be able to offer him more money than anyone else once free agency hits. You know what else doesn’t hurt? A winning culture, and playing with Tyrese Haliburton. My, how the turn tables from what Pacer fans are used to. (Hopefully you got the reference)
Imagine a future with Haliburton, Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, and more. This team still has several assets to play with. They are gaining very important experience this season. And they are quickly becoming a franchise that is creeping back into the National spotlight. Other players are taking note. What they see is one of the best offenses in the history of basketball, young players who love playing together, and a group that should only get better as time passes.
The Pacers are currently the No. 6-seed in the Eastern Conference, which may not be much to brag about. But they’re only a few games out of the third spot in the East, they are 8-4 this season against the top three teams in the conference, and also beat the Suns recently. They went to the championship game of the in-season tournament, and they’ve also gone 7-6 in games Haliburton hasn’t played, much improved from last year’s 7-19 mark.
This is a team nobody will want to see come playoff time. Does that guarantee the Pacers will be playing deep into the NBA Playoffs this season? No. There are still a lot of talented teams in the conference, and the Pacers will lack experience playing under the brightest lights. But a playoff run is at least becoming possible again for the Indiana Pacers. And whether or not they make noise this season, you can be sure of this once again: The Pacers are on their way.
Tyler Smith covers the Indiana Pacers and Indiana Hoosiers for IndySportsLegends and is a frequent contributor to the Journal Review. He is also the youth and sports pastor at New Hope Christian Church.
