Indiana
Indiana Pacers know that to improve in the offseason, they must get better on defense
INDIANAPOLIS — It’s officially the NBA offseason. The Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Championship on Monday night, and after a few days of celebration and reflection, other teams will figure out how to improve their long-term outlook.
That includes the Indiana Pacers, who just won 47 games and reached the Eastern Conference Finals. They had a terrific 2023-24 season, but as a young team, they know that growth isn’t always linear. They will have to find ways to improve if they want to make it back to the conference finals — or even farther — in the future.
“We see areas where we’ve got to improve. Both the roster, skill level, defensively, things like that,” general manager Chad Buchanan said at his end-of-season exit interview. “There’s plenty of areas for us to improve. I think that will be a focus for us this summer and building a team moving forward.”
Buchanan shared that he believes the players on Indiana’s roster recognize the importance of getting stops to make it deep in the playoffs. The team had several moments throughout the regular season where they re-focused on defense — either through a lineup change or intense practice — and it often led to bursts of defensive success and wins.
But the Pacers still finished the regular season with the 24th rated defense, and they were 13th out of 16 teams in the postseason. They can score against anybody and they know it, but future improvement starts with getting stops.
“As a front office, you’re always looking for ways to improve your team,” Buchanan said. His team has three draft picks to try to improve, but no salary cap space. They can use cap exceptions to add talents as well as re-sign their own free agents. “I also believe that we have a lot of internal growth ahead for some of our players,” he added, specifically referring to defense.
“If there’s something out there we feel addresses a need, we’ll be aggressive to do that,” Buchanan explained. Between the Pacers young core and only being out one first-round draft pick in future seasons, Indiana can make any reasonable move that becomes available to them.
Their most important offseason task is re-signing Pascal Siakam. The forward was tremendous last season, and both he and the team have talked about their hopes for free agency this summer. Reporting suggests there is mutual interest between the parties.
Then, the Pacers can look at Obi Toppin, who spent last season with the team, and other free agency options. The 36th overall pick could help the team add talent, too.
Buchanan said that the blue and gold are trying to follow the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics model of constructing their team piece by piece. Those franchises got their star(s), then slowly acquired players that fit in their systems around the mega talent.
Boston’s foundation, in particular, stood out to Buchanan. Their defense is great, and that’s where the Pacers want to grow. “I think our players really recognized the importance of being able to get stops,” he said.
The offseason is underway. Indiana will hope to keep Siakam and Toppin while adding defense where they can.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It’s finally draft day, and the wait will soon be over for Indiana’s Kel’el Ware.
The 2024 NBA Draft begins with the first round on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, ABC and ESPN-plus. The second round will be broadcast Thursday.
Ware, a 7-foot center, is coming off a breakout sophomore season at Indiana. He averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, and he made the All-Big Ten second team and the Big Ten All-Defensive team.
Ware most often scored around the rim, whether it was alley-oop dunks off pick-and-rolls or using his 7-foot-4.5-inch wingspan to shoot over defenders with soft touch. He led the Big Ten in defensive rebounding percentage, and he finished sixth in blocks. With a developing 3-point stroke – he shot 42.5% on 40 attempts at Indiana – Ware, just 20 years old, is an intriguing prospect.
Here’s a look at the final 2024 NBA mock draft projections for Ware on draft day.
No. 17, Los Angeles Lakers – The Ringer
No. 19, Toronto Raptors – Bleacher Report
No. 21, New Orleans Pelicans – NBC Sports
No. 24, New York Knicks – ESPN
No. 24, New York Knicks – Yahoo! Sports
No. 24, New York Knicks – USA Today
No. 30, Boston Celtics – The Athletic
No. 37, Minnesota Timberwolves – CBS Sports
Kel’el Ware Approaches Life-Changing NBA Dreams After Success at Indiana
Indiana
Report: Rival executives monitoring Jarace Walker availability should Indiana Pacers keep Obi Toppin
According to a report from Michael Scotto in HoopsHype, some executives around the league are keeping an eye on Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker and his possible future should the Pacers retain Obi Toppin in free agency.
Toppin will be a restricted free agent this offseason, and Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said that the franchise is interested in continuing their partnership. “Very happy with the fit. He seems to be happy here too as well,” Buchanan said of Toppin’s free agency. “Would like to continue the relationship, it’s all part of the business when you get into a contract situation. But, really happy with Obi as a Pacer.”
The 26-year old Toppin ended the 2023-24 campaign as Indiana’s backup power forward, which is viewed as Walker’s natural position. Should Toppin stay, he would join a second unit that could consist of T.J. McConnell, Bennedict Mathurin, Ben Sheppard, and a young center — such as Jalen Smith or Isaiah Jackson.
That leaves little room for Walker right now unless he can play more positions. That said, he is just 20-years old, and Indiana still is excited about his future. Walker was the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
“We’re still big believers in Jarace and think there’s a lot of things that he can do that this roster needs,” Buchanan said of Walker while reviewing his rookie season.
The blue and gold are transitioning from a developing team into a group with expectations that is trying to win. At the same time, the idea of what Walker could be someday would fill a lot of the team’s weaknesses. They will try to develop him as fast as possible.
Rival executives are monitoring the situation, according to Scotto. “In other Pacers news, rival executives are monitoring whether the Pacers will keep forward Obi Toppin in restricted free agency. If the Pacers re-sign Toppin, several rival executives believe Jarace Walker could become a trade candidate and are monitoring the former No. 8 overall pick’s availability,” the report reads.
Toppin’s free agency still has not been resolved, and rival executives monitor many situations. It’s their job. Still, it is noteworthy that a similar report was published about Walker’s future back in January, and he was not traded and remained with Indiana.
Scotto’s entire report can be found here. Walker averaged 3.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game during his rookie season with the Pacers.
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Indiana’s unemployment rate hit 3.7% in May, up one-tenth of a percent from the previous month. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday that the state added 3,400 private sector jobs over April.
May’s unemployment rate marked the second consecutive month-over-month increase.
The DWD said Indiana’s total private employment stands at 2,850,400. The state primarily saw job gains in the trade, transportation and utilities; professional and business services; construction; financial activities; and leisure and hospitality sectors.
The state’s labor force participation rate fell one-tenth of a percent to 62.4%, which remains slight below the national rate of 62.5%. The labor force, which includes residents who are either employed or seeking employment, stands at 3,377,185, down nearly 1,700 from the previous month.
The DWD said the state had 98,693 open job postings as of June 17, while 19,458 unemployment insurance claims were filed as of the week ending May 25.
The state’s unemployment rate is lower than the national rate, which also rose one-tenth of a percent to 4% in May.
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