NBA free agency opens up tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern Time, meaning players can agree to sign with new teams. From the day after the NBA Finals until that time, players could only negotiate with their former team — which is how the Pacers were able to agree to terms with forward Pascal Siakam already.

Because of the deal with Siakam and the many contracts Indiana already has in place, they could be a quiet team on the free agent market. They may run it back with largely the same team, sans a small move here and there, which makes sense after an Eastern Conference Finals run. Obi Toppin is the best incumbent Pacer who is entering free agency, and Pacers on SI reported earlier this week that the team made him a restricted free agent via a qualifying offer.

Between the Mid-Level-Exception, minimum contracts, and the draft, the Pacers have and could still add external talent in free agency. On the Locked On Pacers podcast, host Tony East went position-by-position and looked at players the Pacers could add in free agency at each spot if they have a specific need.

Point guards:

Shooting guards:

Small forwards with Alex Golden from Setting The Pace:

Power forwards with Ethan Krieger, formerly from 8 Points, 9 Seconds:

Centers:

Last year, the Pacers were active in free agency and acquired Bruce Brown along with Toppin during the offseason. This season, they will likely be quieter in terms of bringing in external talent. Keeping Siakam was the priority, and it’s done.

RICHMOND, Ind. (WISH) — An inmate was found dead early Friday morning at the Wayne County jail, Indiana State Police announced.

The inmate was identified as 36-year-old Andrew Taylor.

State police say Taylor was found sometime before 5 a.m. Friday. Jail staff discovered him unresponsive, and despite life-saving efforts, he was later pronounced dead.

Detectives are working with the Wayne County Coroner’s Office and Sheriff’s Office to learn what led to the incident. They did not say what Taylor’s cause of death was, but said no foul play was suspected.

Taylor’s family was notified, police say.

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers did not waive point guard T.J. McConnell prior to June 28, and with the calendar now rolling to June 29, the veteran point guard has a fully guaranteed contract for the 2024-25 season.

McConnell, 32, signed a four-year, $33.6 million contract in August of 2021. The first three seasons of the agreement were fully guaranteed, but the fourth and final season only had $5 million out of $9.3 million guaranteed. In theory, had the Pacers waived McConnell before Friday ended, they could have saved $4.3 million.

But there was no sense in doing so. $4.3 million in savings is nothing compared to the value McConnell has on the hardwood — if anything he is underpaid at $9.3 million — and the Pacers are over the salary cap anyway. They would have gained little to no flexibility with the savings.

The veteran ball handler is one of the best reserve guards in the league and just averaged career-best numbers across the board. “Getting this franchise back into the playoffs and making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals when not a single person had us going there, it was really fun,” McConnell said of his 2023-24 season.

He averaged 10.2 points and 5.5 assists per game this past year. His scoring down the stretch of the campaign and in the playoffs was remarkable as he did everything for the second unit. Indiana needed McConnell to step up in the scoring department once Bennedict Mathurin went down with an injury, and he did.

“I don’t know, I try not to focus on stuff like that,” McConnell said of having a career year at his age. “Just the team success, really just getting back to the playoffs. That was the goal for us. Just tried to contribute in any way I could.”

The nine-year veteran was never going to be waived. It would have been incredibly misguided for Indiana to do so, but now it’s official. His contract is fully guaranteed for the coming season, and the veteran guard currently projects to be the backup floor general to open the upcoming season.

The more interesting question with McConnell’s contract is about a possible extension. Reporting has suggested that the Pacers would like to add years on to McConnell’s deal this summer, and he is eligible for a longer contract starting on July 6.

Indiana could add up to four years and up to about $80 million to McConnell’s contract this offseason if they are so inclined. “To have him here long term, we’d love to keep T.J. as a Pacer for life. The business part eventually comes into play for everybody, but would hate to lose that guy,” Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said of McConnell late last month.

“His value to us is obviously very, very high,” the GM added. McConnell averaged 11.8 points and 5.1 assists per game in the playoffs.

McConnell, a Pittsburgh native, has been a key veteran for the Pacers ever since he joined the franchise. His fierce mentality after going undrafted in 2015 has never faded, and it makes him the competitor that he is. If Indiana wants to keep playing their up-tempo style that is possible because of star guard Tyrese Haliburton, keeping McConnell as a high-paced backup makes all the sense in the world. As of right now, they have him under contract for one more season.