We may be just under a month away from opening night, but the offseason is over. The team is back at the Pacers' facilities this week in preparation for the start of training camp on Monday.
General Manager Chad Buchanan and VP of Basketball Operations & Cap Management Ted Wu spoke with media this week. Much like the offseason, the interview went about exactly how you'd expect.
Internal Growth
The beauty of more or less bringing the same team back is that you have nowhere to look but inwards when answering the question, "how does the team take the next step?"
So who should we expect to get better?
Myles Turner
According to Buchanan, don't overly focus on the young guys. He was clear that they needed every player on the roster to be an improved version of himself if the team wanted to exceed last year's Eastern Conference Finals run. Using Myles Turner as an example, he pointed out that if Turner can put up career numbers in his ninth year like he did a season ago, there's no reason assume the rest of the vets have reached a plateau.
Pascal Siakam
When asked about Siakam specifically, Buchanan thought that his growth has (and will continue to) come from two areas. First, Siakam was not prepared for just how fast the Pacers play when he was traded to Indiana mid-season. With an offseason to prepare, he thinks Siakam will be better equipped to thrive in Carlisle's uptempo offense over long stretches.
Buchanan also went out of his way to praise the way Siakam has stepped up as a vocal leader. It's something the team requested right off the bat from the man they traded three first round picks to acquire and they've been thrilled with the way he's grown into the role. At this point in his career, Siakam only cares about winning. He's taking the young guys under his wing with both the intention to help them personally, as well as with the understanding that their development will help the team get closer to a championship.
Those are the types of things General Managers usually say about the players they just signed to max contracts. But the proof is in the pudding with Pascal. He recently hosted a players only mini-camp in Orlando and the videos posted to social media (the official record of all things true and incontrovertible) show him being who Buchanan says he is.
Tyrese Haliburton
The front office expects its other max contract player to come back better than ever as well. Buchanan, et al, believe that Haliburton's experience on the star studded Team USA roster has opened his eyes as to what "leadership" means in the context of being one of the league's marquee players. The amount of responsibility that goes with that position is unlike anything else in the league and something you can't really prepare for from afar. Therefore, they hope being up close and personal to see how LeBron, Durant, Curry, etc, handle themselves on a day-to-day was an invaluable experience for Tyrese.
Not that it needs stating at this point, but the team believes Tyrese is one of the smartest players alive. They know that he's always studying and looking for edges. That gives them hope that he'll not only grow into a better leader but a better defender.
There's no dancing around it. As great as he is offensively, Tyrese has been a liability on defense that the Pacers have had to account for while he's on the court. It's part of the reason that Andrew Nembhard has thrived as his backcourt-mate in a way that has eluded Benn Mathurin. If Tyrese is going to evolve into a bonafide superstar, becoming a better defender would go a long way.
The final area they expect him to grow is in his physical strength. After defense, the biggest question mark for Haliburton is his health. Buchanan pointed out when you have the ball as much as Haliburton does, you are going to get bumped and banged around. For the most part last year, Haliburton seemed to intentionally – almost comically – avoid contact. That limited his effectiveness at times because teams knew they could close out hard and then wait for the kick out once he got in the lane. A more physical Haliburton would be a nightmare for defenses. Hopefully some added strength helps keep him out of the training room as well.
Bennedict Mathurin
Mathurin probably has as much to play for this year as any player on the team. A top-ten pick just two years ago, if he can't carve out a major role in the Pacers' competitive wing rotation, the calls to trade will gain major traction.
Buchanan acknowledged that seeing the team win in the playoffs without his contributions was a humbling experience for Mathurin. The GM described the guard as "a very reflective person." He believes that, despite being on the sideline, Benn was closely watching Nembhard, Sheppard, Nesmith – in other words, the less heralded wings who are thriving in Carlisle's system. He also believes that Mathurin has a newfound understanding of the importance of being able to fit both alongside Haliburton and as the scoring engine of the second-unit.
Regarding what role we can expect Mathurin to accept, Buchanan seemed to downplay the assumption that he won't be happy coming off the bench. He thinks Benn wants to feel like he's contributing to winning more than anything and that he understands how much depth the Pacers have. It will ultimately be up to Mathurin to carve out his spot but Buchanan described him as healthy and hungry and he expects Benn to be extremely competitive all season.
Jarace Walker
Speaking of top-ten picks getting outplayed by less heralded players... With the addition of Pascal Siakam and the re-signing of Obi Toppin, the assumption is that if Walker is going to crack the rotation this year it will be as a three, not at his more natural position as a four.
The messaging on how Jarace Walker can earn playing time has been pretty much consistent over the past year: it starts and (maybe) ends with defense. They value his size, ability to move his feet, rebounding, shot blocking, and grab and go potential. If he can bring those things on a consistent basis they believe it will give the team an element on defense that they haven't had in a long time.
However, as has been the case since he was drafted, the team is waiting for Jarace to prove himself. Buchanan said how he performs in training camp is going to play a big role in establishing his role on the team going forward.
Andrew Nembhard
They think that as unfortunate as Tyrese Haliburton's injury in the Eastern Conference Finals was, it allowed Nembhard to grow into a role of which he's fully capable. He carried that primary playmaking confidence into the summer and they expect that he'll be more aggressive during the upcoming season.
Defense
If the team is going to take the next step, it's not by improving its already record breaking offense. Becoming a legitimate title contender hinges on defense.
In the front office's view, it is essentially a matter of commitment from the players. It has to be important to them on every possession and the commitment can't come from just one or two players.
The playoffs was a great learning experience as they got to see how committed Boston was to defense and how they used getting stops to win close games.
Buchanan gave his players credit for getting better on that end as the season went on, especially in the playoffs. He admitted that it's tough to defend in the current NBA. While the team succeeded at certain things (i.e. taking away threes), it largely failed to keep opposing teams out of the paint. He doesn't expect them to be able to take away everything but he does expect them to be better.
Approach to the Off-Season
The approach to offseason was simple. Keep the band together. Buchanan and Wu spoke about how that plan was a reflection of how they feel about the team. The success of last year wasn't a fluke in their eyes. It was a testament to the chemistry of the team and how well the pieces fit together. They wanted to reward their own guys with contracts for holding up their end of the bargain.
This brings me to a quick detour. When asked about working out an extension for Myles Turner they gushed about how important he is to the team's identity on and off the court. Specifically, they feel that his fit 1) within Rick Carlisle's system, 2) with the point guards on the roster, and 3) next to Pascal Siakam make him hard to replace.
Of course, roster building always comes with constraints, so there's no guarantee that Myles is re-signed or that any of the new contract recipients won't be traded at some point in not too distant future. The team believes that they've maintained a reasonable amount of flexibility considering their payroll. But still, they like their group and they want it to work with the guys they have in the building.
Hardworking Players
The Front Office said it values hardworking players when it evaluates who to acquire. They hope that trait will mitigate any concerns about having a team where the majority of the core are sitting on comfy new deals. In fact, they pointed to Siakam's mini-camp as an example of a practice with no coaches present where the players were still going full-speed and competing tooth and nail. This group is simply too deep and has too many winners for anybody to rest on his laurels.
To that end they expect that training camp will be one of the most competitive in the history of the team. The players did conditioning tests this week and everybody is already in shape. The players know this isn't a situation where they can just play their way into shape and coast into a spot in the rotation. Not only is the team too deep, the coaches expect them to run their butts off to execute the system.
What to Keep an Eye On
Here are a few things that I think are worth keeping an eye on as the season unfolds.
The Chemistry
Last year the team had as good of chemistry as you could ask for. But last year is dead and gone and the NBA moves fast. Will the dynamic persist as the expectations increase and young players stop being quite so young?
Buchanan said he likes the quote, "Just because you're on the right track doesn't mean you're going anywhere." He doesn't think they can take their chemistry for granted. He judges it by how the bench behaves. Last year it was fantastic and he'll be watching to see if it remains at the same level this year.
Being Overlooked
What's new? The Indiana Pacers are being overlooked by the national media. Personally I think that's a good thing. It gives them an edge and lets them play a role they're familiar with. If they stop being overlooked at any point next season, I'll be interested to see how they respond to being favorites.
Furphy and Wiseman
Both are players at the end of the roster but have the potential to play productive roles for the Pacers.
Buchanan noted that Furphy went from totally off the basketball radar, to being recruited by Kansas, to getting drafted in an extremely short period of time. The youngster still has a lot of room to grow both physically and in his skillset, so he'll spend the majority of the early season with the Mad Ants. But if/when he gets a shot during the grueling season, it will be interesting to see how he fits. On paper at least, his size and activity without the ball should make the fit glove-like.
The front office is considering the addition of James Wiseman a win considering the resources it had available. They rotated three centers last year and they envision doing it again. Wiseman has the size and rim running ability to thrive in the team's uptempo style. If he can capitalize on some of the potential that made him a top pick, the Pacers could have another useful weapon on their hands.
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