Pacers Have Clear Path Towards Contention After Tyrese Haliburton Return, Insider Says

Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) reacts after against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

An insider unpacks how Indiana can return to championship contention when its reacuires All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton. The 6-foot-5 Iowa State product, 25, tore his Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the NBA Finals this past June.

Indiana has ostensibly already ruled Haliburton out for the entire 2025-26 NBA season, although assistant general manager Ted Wu recently contended on the "Setting The Pace" podcast that, should that change, the Pacers would have mechanisms to ditch anyone they were to sign with their Disabled Player Exception.

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In a new preview of the 2026 offseason (with the 2025 vintage seemingly coming to a close, barring any crazy trades or buyouts), ESPN cap expert Bobby Marks notes that Indiana could rocket right back into being one of the Eastern Conference's elite teams heading into 2026-27, after what is essentially a "gap year" season sans Haliburton.

"As for the Pacers, they were three quarters from being declared the prohibitive favorite in the Eastern Conference this season," Marks writes. "Then Tyrese Haliburton tore his right Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals and Myles Turner signed with Milwaukee. The good news is that when Haliburton returns ahead of 2026-27, Indiana has 13 players on the current roster under contract, including Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell. And, like the Celtics, the Pacers have their own 2026 [first-round draft pick]."

Indiana Can Return to Contention — Even Post-Myles Turner

Turner, who had been Indiana's longest-tenured player with 10 years of experience to his credit, inked a four-season, $108.9 million contract with the Bucks in free agency this summer.

Milwaukee doesn't necessarily seem like it's much closer than Indiana sans Haliburton, per se, but one wonders if the Pacers truly offered him the amount of money he wanted at the beginning of negotiations.

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Among the team's current crop, Indiana will have significant year-over-year stability (ostensibly, anyway) and a healthy Haliburton ready to compete for its first NBA title. But the Pacers do still need to find a legitimate, long-term solution at their starting center spot. Isaiah Jackson, James Wiseman (who has a team option for 2026-27), and Jay Huff all seem serviceable, but none are Turner-caliber starters.

For more news and notes on the Indiana Pacers, visit Indiana Pacers on SI.