Navigating the penalties of the first and second apron since their introduction in 2024 has become the norm for most NBA teams.

Indiana is notorious for making cost-saving moves and they’ve been one of the most successful teams to do so while staying competitive. Entering this season, Indiana is over the luxury tax and operating as a tax-paying team.

Although the team is currently over the luxury tax, Indiana has until the NBA Trade Deadline to get under iy. The Pacers currently sit at $5.87 million over the luxury tax which is a decent amount of money the Pacers would have to offload if they wanted to avoid paying the tax.

Here is a breakdown of the Pacers roster entering the season:

Max Contract Guys

Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam are the only two players on max contracts entering the season. Each player makes the same amount of money this season at $48,924,624. Siakam only has two years remaining on his contract, while Haliburton has three.

The Rest of the Starting Five

Indiana has filled out the rest of their starting five with three players on great contracts for their value.

Aaron Nesmith is in the final season of his $11 million dollars per year contract. He will get a nice bump after signing an extension last season for 2 years worth $40.4 million total. Nesmith joins Haliburton as the only players currently signed past the next two seasons.

Andrew Nembhard has two years left on his deal and will be making around $19.5 million this season. He is the fourth highest paid player on the team this season and next.

Ivica Zubac’s contract was one of the main reasons Indiana targeted him at the trade deadline. Considered a top ten center in the NBA, Zubac makes just over $20 million this season and is under contract for the next two seasons.

The Veterans on the Second Unit

There are four veterans in the second unit: T.J. McConnell, Obi Toppin, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Jay Huff.

McConnell will make $11,000,000 this season but this is the last year on his contract that’s fully guaranteed. Next season T.J.’s contract is only partially guaranteed for $5 million. In the offseason of 2028, McConnell’s contract will be fully non-guaranteed.

Toppin has two years remaining on his contract. He will make $15 million this upcoming season and $16,025,000 the following. He is the highest paid bench player on the team and will be the fifth highest paid player on the roster.

Oubre Jr. just signed a new deal in free agency for two years worth $16.5 million. He’ll make $8,050,000 this season and $8,450,000 the next. He is the 9th highest paid player on the team this season and is a strong addition on a team-friendly deal.

Lastly, Jay Huff is entering the 3rd year of his 4-year contract. He signed this deal with Memphis for $10,110,640 and it’s an incredible bargain of a deal for Indiana. His salary accounts for just 1.6% of the team’s salary as he only makes $2,667,944 this season. Next season Huff is set to make $3,005,085 but the contract is non-guaranteed with no partials.

Players on Expiring Deals

There are three players on expiring contracts this upcoming season: Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, and Larry Nance Jr.

Jarace Walker will likely have the biggest role on the team out of these three players. He enters the fourth year of his rookie-scale contract making $8,478,541. He’ll be the 8th highest paid player on the team.

Ben Sheppard is in the fourth year of his rookie-scale contract as well. He has been able to carve out a role for himself in the Pacers rotation the last few seasons but it’s always been an uphill battle for playing time with other players ahead of him. He enters the final season of his contract making $5,031,668.

Lastly, Larry Nance Jr. signed a veteran’s minimum deal for $3.9 million this offseason. However, he only counts for $2,449,421 against Indiana’s cap. His role is still undecided but he will likely be behind Zubac and Huff in the depth chart.

The Backend of the Roster

The remainder of the roster is Johnny Furphy, Quenton Jackson, and potentially Braden Smith. As of August 8th, we still have not heard any news on Smith’s contract. However, Smith’s agency did share that he would not be returning to college for a fifth year. He will either be the final player added to the Pacers 15-man roster or he will be signed to a two-way deal.

Johnny Furphy is currently the cheapest contract on the roster. He will be out for a poriton of the season as he recovers from his ACL injury, but the team is extremely high on him and what he can contribute. He will make $2,296,271 this season. His contract the following year is non-guaranteed for $2,486,995.

Quenton Jackson’s contract was partially guaranteed this season for $275,000 but the Pacers elected to keep him past the guarantee date making his contract fully guaranteed for $2,584,539. Next season his contract is non-guaranteed for $2,934,742.

Pacers Depth Chart

Indiana presently sits with 14 players on the roster and three players on two-way deals. Here is how the fifteen-man depth chart sits as of now:

Two Way Deals: Ethan Thompson, Jalen Slawson, Kobe Brown.
Unsigned: Braden Smith

Extension Eligible

There are 8 players on the Pacers who are eligible for extensions this offseason: Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard, Johnny Furphy, Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Ivica Zubac, Obi Toppin, and Andrew Nembhard.

Bobby Marks of ESPN shared that Jay Huff is also extension eligible, but Keith Smith of Spotrac and Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star did not include Huff with the players on the Pacers who are extension eligible.

Here are the important details of each player’s extension outlook:

Tyrese Haliburton became extension eligible on July 6th. His highest possible extension price is for two years at approximately $119.2 million.

Pascal Siakam also became extension eligible on July 6th. His highest possible extension price is for $207 million over three years.

Ivica Zubac doesn’t become extension eligible until September 3rd. The highest possible extension he could sign is for three years at $99 million.

Andrew Nembhard just recently became eligible on July 26th. His highest possible extension is for three years at $95.4 million.

Obi Toppin became extension eligible the same date as Haliburton and Siakam. His highest possible extension is worth approximately $72.8M for three years.

Johnny Furphy is one of the players who became extension eligible on July 6th. His highest possible extension is for three years at $72 million. However, this would be based on the NBA’s average salary.

Jarace Walker became extension eligible on July 1st. The highest possible extension he could sign for is a five-year $251.2 million. However, if Walker does the unimaginable and makes an All-NBA Team or wins the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, that $251.2 million turns into $301.5 million.

Ben Sheppard became extension eligible on July 1st also. And just like Walker, the highest possible extension he could sign for is a five-year $251.2 million. If he makes an All-NBA Team that $251.2 million turns into $301.5 million.

Final Thoughts

Indiana will have a lot to sort through when looking at extensions and future roster decisions. Extensions won’t impact the current year’s salary but it will have an effect in future seasons.

The Pacers legally cannot enter into the first apron as they are hard-capped. This means they are unable to add a player via signing or trade that would put their overall team salary cap over the $209,015,000 limit.

Indiana currently sits $2,235,068 below the first apron and has one open roster spot. They could sign a free agent with 0-1 years of experience right now. Or they could wait till later in the season and sign a more prove veteran to fill out that roster spot.

All in all, Indiana has built a strong team with good depth while avoiding the restrictions that come with being an apron team. They also positioned themselves to have a little wiggle room to get under the luxury tax if they feel that’s what is best for the team.

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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