Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, Jay Huff and Braden Smith Share Offseason Update

The Indiana Pacers teamed up with the Indianapolis Colts, Indiana Fever, Noblesville Boom, Indy Ignite and a few celebrities for a terrific Charity Softball game that was captained by Tyrese Haliburton.

Before the game, a select few from the Pacers roster spoke with the media and shed light on a few things they have been working on this summer, as well as the offseason additions of Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr.

Jay Huff

Jay Huff spoke first and shared that he loves being employed this offseason and not having to move cities for the first time in his career was refreshing.

Huff continued by sharing his offseason focus, "I bulked up a little bit, while still trying to be fast. Been in the weight room a lot, been working on my jumper a lot." Huff added after that he's added about 10-15 pounds.

This offseason Huff has been trying to get as much run in with Tyrese Haliburton to get experience with him. Huff said added that he has been doing "a lot of running, run the rim, run the floor, learn how to play with Ty, we've been playing a lot of pickup."

Huff expanded on what he's learned from playing with Haliburton in pickup this offseason, "he makes everyone around him better and I think that's useful to have." he continued, "we missed him a lot last year. I think having him back learning to play together, he's got a lot of guys back that have played with him, but it's been good to learn that since we haven't done that."

Lastly, Huff mentioned that he's talked with Oubre and Nance after games some, but is closer to Nance's brother, Pete, who he spent a good amount of time playing in the G-League with.

Aaron Nesmith

Pacers small forward and fan-favorite, Aaron Nesmith, might have struggled on the field during the softball charity game, but he was happy to be back in Indy and answered some questions from the media.

Nesmith spoke on having a lengthier offseason compared to previous seasons and had this to say about it, "It was good getting a long offseason and getting the body right. Working on some things we need to work on and just the excitement of getting back to playing meaningful games again."

When it comes to what Nesmith has been focusing on this offseason, this is what he told reporters, "Working on putting the ball on the floor, making the right reads and slowing down." Nesmith then spoke on the hopes for next season, "Excitement. Ready to play, ready to win. Get back to the playoffs."

The addition of Kelly Oubre Jr. was the biggest move of the offseason and Nesmith had this to say about the move, "I think it allows us to do more and try some different things. And just keep the scheme the same with the first and second units."

At the conclusion of his interview, Nesmith admits that he was surprised by Tyrese Haliburton's East Bay dunk and said, "I didn't know he had that in him."

Tyrese Haliburton

During his media availability, Haliburton discussed how special it is to have a ton of support from the fans for this event. He elaborated on the great relationship all the different sports communities in the city have with one another and was excited about reviving this event.

When asked about the relationship he has with Daniel Jones and what it was like for them both going through Achilles injury rehab Haliburton said, "We talked a good amount. We had the same surgeon. He got hurt very much so closer to now than I do, I am really excited to see how everything pans out for him. We've had a few conversations, and I'll be an ear as much as I can."

Haliburton on training camp upcoming, "I'm chomping at the bit. I can't wait. I'm really excited. Everybody always feels like the summer is really long, I can't wait to get back, well, I've had that for double, triple the amount of time as everybody else. I can't wait to get back on the floor."

Indiana's point guard continued, "We were just together as a team in LA last week. We'll be together again for a team mini-camp next month, so we spend a lot of time together. We have a lot of guys who stay here in the summer so we spend as much time together in the summer as we can."

Lastly, Haliburton discussed all the new additions and movement in the Eastern Conference, "It's exciting. Competition is fun. Excited for LeBron to be in the East. Excited the reigning champs are in the East. It makes it more fun and I'm really looking forward to it."

Barden Smith

Braden Smith just signed his two-way contract with the Pacers and addressed what it meant to finally put pen to paper, "It's awesome. Being from here and watching them my entire life and also being a fan of everybody, now being a part of that and getting to experience that is an awesome opportunity."

Smith on the process of waiting for the contract to be signed, "Through the whole process I knew it was going to end up like they said. It's a contract that doesn't need to be really signed till like November-ish, so I was just stay with it, get in, get better, that's the main focus."

Asked about his Summer League play Smith said, "I gotta be better. I'm my hardest critic about it. Being able to digest it, understand it, see what went wrong, see what went well, what I can learn, those types of things and a lot of good feedback from the guys, the coaching staff, and I think I've come along way so far."

Lastly, Smith added that gaining weight and getting into the weight room has been a big focus of his offseason. He also added that he's working on making his jump shot more consistent and playing better defense. He acknowledged that these are the things he needs to improve, but is confident in his passing skills and the ability to get his teammates open looks.

He revealed that he has been working with T.J. (McConnell) and Tyrese (Haliburton) about the defensive techniques and how different playing defense in the NBA is compared to college, which is something he noticed in his five games at Summer League.

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

Add us as a preferred source on Google