Do Any Contract Extensions Make Sense For The Indiana Pacers Before The 2023-24 Season?

Training camp begins for the Indiana Pacers early next week, but they still have some offseason business to take care of.

On top of their rookie-scale option decisions, which they have until the end of October to make, the Pacers also have multiple contract extensions to consider. Two of them involve players on rookie-scale contracts while three others are possible with veterans.

Last year, Bojan Bogdanovic, Andrew Wiggins, Larry Nance Jr, and Steven Adams all signed veteran extensions in the month of October. Several young players agreed to rookie-scale extensions as well. Even with the season approaching, front offices still look to straighten out their roster as training camps open up.

For the Pacers, Daniel Theis, T.J. McConnell, and Buddy Hield are all eligible for veteran extensions right now. Once opening night rolls around, Theis and McConnell will no longer be able to have their contracts lengthened (that is, unless Indiana declines Theis’ team option for the 2024-25 season).

Neither Theis or McConnell seem like extension candidates. Both players will turn 32-years old during the upcoming season, and they each are on the edge of Indiana’s projected rotation. Because they are outside of the Pacers timeline, and because they have replacements ascending within the team, an extension for either veteran seems unlikely.

Hield is also over 30, but he has a much more prominent role on the roster. While the current projection is that he will come off the bench for the blue and gold, he is still a valuable piece for the team. He averaged nearly 17 points per game and shot 42.5% from deep on 8.5 attempts per game this past season. He’s a helpful player.

Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan confirmed earlier this week that the team talked with Hield about an extension, but contract discussions are currently at a halt. “The business of basketball comes into play at times. We’ve had talks with him about an extension and those talks are at a halt I’d say right now,” Buchanan said. “That’s not to say that they’re done. We’d like to have Buddy with us. We have no intention of trying to move Buddy. But it’s also our job to listen if opportunities come that help us improve the team. That’s what we have to do as a front office.”

Hield’s base salary is just over $18.5 million this coming season, and he has some attainable bonuses in his contract. As he crosses into his 30s, he may be looking for one more big contract during his career. Typically, older players see their skill level decline, but the Oklahoma product doesn’t rely much on athleticism and is a focused shooter. His game should age well.

How well is the question. A contract extension is effectively an agreement on how much a player will be worth in the future. As the cap rises, a player is worth a bigger percentage of the salary cap in salary, but Hield’s talent level could stagnate or decline as he ages in coming seasons. Those factors are competing against one another.

The seven-year pro may be properly paid right now, and an extension at roughly his current salary for multiple years could make sense. That’s what the Pacers did with Malcolm Brogdon in 2021. But Hield may want more money given his shooting ability and the salary-cap climate. As Buchanan said, this extension discussion may not be done — it wasn’t with Myles Turner and Indiana last season — but someone will have to change their stance. Otherwise, Hield could get traded.

Two Pacers players on rookie-scale contracts, Aaron Nesmith and Obi Toppin, are also eligible for a contract extension. Both of them were selected in the 2020 NBA draft, so they are able to have their contract lengthened. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton had his contract extended in this way back in July.

As a part of the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, both players can have their contract extended for as many as five additional seasons. It can be for up to as much as $260 million, like Haliburton’s deal, though neither player is worth close to that much money. The rising cap environment of the league makes finding the balance of contract length and annual value tricky for young players and teams.

“Both of those guys, Obi and Aaron, are extension eligible. We’ll have conversations with their agents on whether it makes sense or not,” Buchanan said. Each player has until October 23 to extend their contract.

A longer Toppin deal feels unlikely. He could be primed for improvement this year with more opportunity coming his way, but Indiana just hasn’t seen him in their system yet. It’s hard for the team to know how much he is worth without seeing him play.

Toppin may want to wait anyway. Playing alongside Haliburton could make his life easier and improve his numbers, which would make him more valuable than he is right now. Agreeing to a deal soon, instead of waiting for restricted free agency after a season playing with one of the best passers in the league, would be a rushed decision.

“Obi is somebody we haven’t seen on our team yet. I think we would like to see how things play out there,” Buchanan said.

Nesmith is a trickier decision. The young forward was a capable defender on the wing for the blue and gold last season and knocked down 36.6% of his threes. He has the makings of being a three-and-D wing, which is a valuable player archetype.

Generally, young players get better. Teams have to figure out how to pay for a player’s projected improvement without overpaying. Players who are angling for rookie extensions, meanwhile, want to be paid a fair salary for the player they hope to be.

Nesmith’s role with Indiana could be smaller this coming season after the additions of Bruce Brown, Jarace Walker, and Toppin. But he is still a talented young piece with desirable skills. It’s fair to wonder if there is an extension at a slightly higher value than the one Nassir Little received last summer (four years, $28 million) that makes sense for Nesmith. An annual value between $10 and $12 million makes sense.

“Aaron has had one year with us and did a good job for us. It’s got to be the right situation for both sides. We’ll have those conversations,” Buchanan said before noting that there is no rush.

Despite having five players eligible for contract extensions in the lead up to the season, only Nesmith and Hield make sense as extension candidates for the Pacers right now. A Hield deal seems unlikely at this time, though, so Nesmith may be the sole player with a new contract come opening night. In just over three weeks, Hield will be the only one of these players eligible for an extension, so expect a decision — or non-decision — on these extensions soon.