Ranking the Indiana Pacers Forwards for the Future

When it comes to the Indiana Pacers forward room, there are so many strong pieces for the present and the future with these five players.

First, you have the multi-time NBA All-Star, who’s also made multiple All-NBA teams, was the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals MVP, and a former NBA Champion in Pascal Siakam.

Then, you have a wrecking ball of a small forward with a silky smooth three-point shot in Aaron Nesmith.

Nesmith Siakam — May 25, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) celebrates with forward Aaron Nesmith (23) during the third quarter of game three of the eastern conference finals against the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Next, you have an athletic freak who will put the ball in between his legs before slamming it home on a fast break, who is also an elite catch-and-shoot floor spacer in Obi Toppin.

Followed by the 8th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, a lights out three-point shooter with a wingspan over 7-foot in Jarace Walker.

And lastly, you have the 6-foot-8 Australian Glider, who flies all over the court and is ready to put the next opponent in his path on a poster in Johnny Furphy.

Apr 11, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Johnny Furphy (12) dunks the ball over Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) during the second quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The Pacers are invested in all five of these players, which makes this exercise extremely difficult. How do I rank these five individuals based on how they fit into the future of the team after this assumed two-year Championship window?

Is the window for this group really only two years? Do the Pacers have the financial capacity to bring back everyone once their deals are up to keep this machine running?

It’s an incredibly hard task to fully know, but I am going to try my best to rank these players based on how I view them fitting into the Pacers long-term future.

1. Aaron Nesmith

The Pacers love Aaron Nesmith and for so many reason. He is the perfect glue guy for how they want to build this team around Tyrese Haliburton, and with his elite perimeter shooting, ability to step up in clutch playoff games, and defend his tail off every time he’s on the floor, the long-term fit just makes too much sense.

He recently signed a 2-year, $40.4M extension that has him making $19.4M in 2027-28, and $20.9M in 2028-29. This is such a reasonable number for a starting small forward in the NBA, and the Pacers have to continue to make cost effective decisions as the team grows older.

Nesmith will turn 27 before the next season begins, which puts him at twenty-nine years old by the time this assumed two-year window is over. Indiana moving off of Nesmith in the middle of his prime would only make sense if it were to acquire a more talented player at that position. If he isn’t traded, I don’t see a world in where the Pacers let him walk for nothing.

2. Pascal Siakam

Siakam turned 32 years old in April, which means that he would be just 34 years old by the end of this 2-year window. This is the only reason I don't have him slotted into the first spot for this list.

With how well Siakam takes care of his body and how he fits into this core, there is a world where the Pacers would like to keep him for a year or two after his current contract comes to an end.

Siakam did not start playing basketball till he was 17 years old, getting a much later start than the typical NBA player does. This means that he will likely have a lot less wear and tear on his body for someone turning 34 years old, which could entice the Pacers and Siakam to agree to an extension to keep in the blue and gold longer than maybe some people expect.

Siakam Cheesing — Mar 29, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) in the first half against the Miami Heat at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

If Indiana is unable to find a second star next to Haliburton to fill the shoes of Siakam, then it would be foolish of them to not keep this core together, especially if they’re still in the hunt competing for championships.

However, there is a world where his salary is just too much money and the Pacers would have to lose core players of their rotation to avoid becoming a team that lives in the luxury tax. That isn’t how Indiana functions normally, and that is why I am 50-50 on how long I see the Pacers-Siakam marriage lasting.

Paying a 34 year old All-Star around 30% of the team’s cap space is a tough pill to swallow, but that's a tough decision Indiana will have to make. The Pacers haven’t won at this level since the Reggie Miller Era, and Siakam has been just as important as Haliburton to the Pacers postseason success.

3. Obi Toppin

This might come as a surprise to most, but I just can’t quit Obi Toppin and what he means to this organization. Yes, he is a backup for Pascal Siakam, but are we sure that Obi can’t become a starting level power forward in the NBA?

I think there is a world where he could become Pascal’s replacement, but that is a significant drop-off. I prefer Obi off the bench as the team’s sixth man, especially with McConnell getting older and the team needing stability and familiarity in that area.

The one reason the team might have a tough decision to make with Obi is due to his future contract. He will make just over $16M at the end of his contract, and for a bench player, I don’t think he should be making much more than that. But if the team can agree to a deal that is in that same ballpark, they should find a way to get it done.

His fit with this team is impeccable, specifically next to Haliburton. Age wise, Toppin will be entering year 30 by the end of his current deal, which happens to align with when this two-year window is up. I envision a world where Toppin signs one more four-year deal before becoming a free agent again at age 34, and I would lean towards him signing that deal with the Pacers.

4. Johnny Furphy

The sample size for what Johnny Furphy can bring to the team is incredibly small, but if you go back to last offseason, the front office was raving about the potential and future of Furphy. Chad Buchanan had this to say about Furphy on Setting The Pace: A Pacers Podcast in July of 2025:

"If you go back and look at last year's summer league to where he was at to where he's at now, there's definite growth in every part of his game. We like that physicality that he brings, and I think as his body catches up to his playstyle, I think he can be very impactful for us playing off the ball with his cutting [and] his transition game."

The Pacers saw firsthand from Furphy how impactful of a player he could be after dealing with minor injuries early in the season. He played in 31 games this season next to Pascal Siakam, for a total of 421 minutes, and they had a positive net rating of +1.5. Only Ethan Thompson had a better plus-minus next to Siakam with a minimum 100 minutes played, which should highlight how effective these two were in a franchise-worst season.

At just 21 years young, and with his contract being under team control until the 2028 offseason, Furphy fits in perfectly into what the team needs: an impactful bench player, a team-friendly salary, and a young player that can grow into a bigger role.

With his contract being so small, including him in any trade would be almost meaningless because he does not have a large enough salary to significantly impact a trade. This is why I see Furphy being with the franchise past this two-year window.

5. Jarace Walker

Jarace Walker is entering his fourth season with the Indiana Pacers on the final year of his rookie scale contract. This season, Walker will be making close to $8.5M, which is the highest salary of any player not in the "core seven" of Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam, Zubac, McConnell, and Toppin.

This does not mean that Walker will be traded, but if the Pacers do want to make a substantial trade this offseason, or even by the NBA Trade Deadline, it feels that Walker is the most likely candidate to be on the move. This is why I have him fifth overall, despite being a young 22 years old .

Walker nearly doubled his scoring from 6.1 points to 11.6 per game, but with the season focusing more on development than winning, Walker was granted an extended amount of playing time that he would not normally receive if the Pacers were trying to compete for a championship.

Seeing how Jarace transitions into a smaller role off the bench where he will not be able to play as freely as he did last season will give us more answers on his future than we know now, but you have to assume the front office that invested a lottery pick in him would like to see that before making a drastic move.

His defensive efforts will have to do a complete 180 from last season if he hopes to log significant playoff minutes, otherwise he will find himself out of the rotation as the rotation tightens.

But you can't deny that Jarace is a great three-point shooter for his young career. Shooting over 40% his first two seasons, and following that up with a season shooting 37.4% with twice the amount of attempts let's you know how real it is.

He has the tools to be a nice fit with this group, but he needs to show that his efforts can contribute to winning at the highest level. And if they do, he will be higher on this list next season.

Final Thoughts

Obi and Aaron — Apr 2, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin (1) celebrates with guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) and forward Aaron Nesmith (23) in the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

As I was completing this exercise, the order of this list flipped around for me multiple times. This is the strongest position group that the Pacers have, and each player brings value to the team. Out of all the groups the Pacers have put together, this is the only one where I could see every player still on this roster after the two-year window.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.

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