Pacers Insider Urges Indiana to Add Veteran for Critical Role

The Pacers still need help at this spot on the floor.

Jun 22, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) dribbles the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) defends during the second half of game seven of the 2025 NBA Finals at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are going to be thin at the point guard position next season with Tyrese Haliburton out for the entire season as he recovers from his torn Achilles.

Andrew Nembhard is going to shift over to being the starting point guard, but T.J. McConnell is the only other point guard who has real NBA experience on the roster.

If they have another injury to one of those two players, they could be in real trouble. One Pacers insider believes that they should look at adding a low-cost point guard this offseason.

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Caitlin Cooper of Basketball, She Wrote believes that the Pacers would be smart to add a cheap veteran point guard to this roster.

"In short, the answer to this question (should Indiana sign a veteran point guard) is likely yes, but the Pacers may not have a means for providing said answer in the short term. For now, unless a low-cost trade materializes (a la Jay Huff) or someone on another roster gets waived, they might just need to rely on playing Jackson as an extra body, who has shown he can be the extra (although, sometimes too extra) version of himself in NBA minutes, while potentially tilting more of the initiation to the wings and especially Pascal Siakam."

Quenton Jackson is listed as the third point guard on the roster at the moment, and he had some playing time early last season when Nembhard was hurt.

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That doesn't mean that the Pacers want to allow Jackson to play significant minutes in important games. There's a reason he has been mostly a G League player in his career.

Signing a player like Ben Simmons might make the fan base uneasy, but at least he can rebound, play hard defense, and get up the court quickly. His passing would fit the roster, as well.

Simmons likely would want to sign with a team that would actually give him playing time from the jump, so he might not be the right player. Bringing someone like Cory Joseph or Malcolm Brogdon back might be a smarter move since they don't expect much playing time at this point.

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