The NBA’s extension deadline came and went Monday night, and the Indiana Pacers didn’t sign a single one of their eight eligible players, as first reported by Forbes’ Tony East.
The list: Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Ivica Zubac, Obi Toppin and T.J. McConnell, plus Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, who were in the final year of their rookie deals and eligible for five-year extensions.
What Happens Next
Walker and Sheppard are signed through this season. If Indiana extends qualifying offers next summer, they’d be restricted free agents. Siakam, Toppin, Nembhard and Zubac all head into the 2027 offseason with a year left and can be extended again then. Haliburton will have two years left, and he’d become supermax-eligible if he makes an All-NBA team or wins MVP or Defensive Player of the Year in the next three seasons.
Nobody was sweating it publicly. GM Chad Buchanan said last month, “We do have a lot of guys that are in that boat. We’ll keep that to ourselves on that one.” Siakam’s take: “They (his agents) do that for me. I focus on basketball.”
The IAHHM Take
This was a money call. Per Forbes, the Pacers are already over the luxury tax and getting close to the first apron, and they’ve got real questions to answer first: Haliburton coming back from a torn Achilles, Zubac learning the system, and new faces Kelly Oubre and Larry Nance fitting in.
Waiting makes sense. Why lock in long-term money before you know what Hali looks like post-injury? But it also puts a lot of pressure on this season. If Walker pops, his price goes up. If Hali gets back to All-NBA form, the supermax conversation gets very real, very fast.
So was Indiana smart to wait, or should they have locked somebody up? For more NBA storylines heading into the season, check out Carmelo’s message to the Pistons about Jalen Duren and our Cavs breakdown.
Source: Forbes
