Still hurting for Tyrese, but man
that run really reignited by intrest in the NBA. I've always been a huge basketball fan, but that's been much heavier on the college side last 5-10 years. Through the 2000's and into early/mid-10's I watched a lot more NBA than have in the last decade.
Now I'm all in on seeing how the Pacers build from here. The east is going to be pretty wide open next year and the Pacers will still be solid, especially if they resign Turner. They strike me as a play-in type team without Tyrese. Feels like a really good season to develop and see what you've got with some of these young guys.
- Nembhard get's a full year running the point and needs to continue to develop offensively
- Mathurin has to step into being the #2 offensive option after Siakam, he'll be in the final year of his contract and needs to prove if he's extension worthy
- Jarace Walker's role really grew from year 1 to year 2, does he have another step forward? His shooting at his size can be a real asset if he continues to grow
- Sheppard was a weak spot at times when called upon, another guy going into year 3 in the league and needs to prove if he can be a role player for a top team
- Furphy is a guy who I think should have stayed at Kansas another year, he got limited run in his first year but seems like a guy with good developmental upside and probably gets more minutes next year to see what they're working with
They then control all their 1st rounders from 2026-31, will have some useful players and/or expiring contracts as trade assets, etc. I think they could in a good spot with Tyrese coming back (hopefully healthy) in 2026-27 to essentially run it back again with this team or make another splash move.