The New Beginning

Today was a joyous day at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, one of importance. The feeling was more akin to a ceremony than a press conference. Rather than the usual media room, the proceedings took place on the court. The backdrop was no dinky banner, but an imposing, 600 square foot, jumbotron hovering just above the hardwood. Tens of millions of the finest LED pixels gleamed behind Kevin Pritchard and Rick Carlisle as they introduced the team's newest signings: Tyrese Haliburton and Bruce Brown.

The Pacers are, without a doubt, very excited about Bruce Brown – somewhere between $22 and $45 million dollars worth of excitement – but the man of the hour was truly Tyrese Haliburton.

Pritchard opened up the press conference by saying, "Sometimes, in this business, you get great players. Sometimes you get great humans... We got both in Ty."

Carlisle, for his part, spoke about the "dark place" the franchise was in during December of '21 and January of '22. He described Haliburton as a "new light... [someone who] changed the trajectory of the organization." And they compensated him as such. Haliburton was rewarded with the friendliest contract possible.

The one area where the Pacers "won" in the negotiation is the term (in reality they consider the privilege of paying Haliburton any amount of money a win). The extension is for the maximum five years, with no option. That means that Tyrese will be under contract for an additional six years total.

If you're an optimist and you feel that number is low, take joy in knowing Tyrese feels the same way. At the mention of six additional years, he opined that it would be a lot more than that. Pritchard jokingly chimed in that another 15 years sounded right.

If you're a bit jaded from Paul George, Victor Oladipo, and countless other stars around the league, you have a kindred spirit in the press pool who asked Haliburton why he thought this partnership would last when so many others in the NBA fail. Haliburton answered that he loves Indy and the organization. He's a "Midwest kid trough and through" and he wants to be a part of building something. Whether those words prove true in the long run, I obviously can't say. However, I don't question their sincerity, spoken as they were with tears of joy and gratitude still lingering in Haliburton's eyes.

In effect, today was a coronation. The official commencement of Tyrese's reign as the face of the franchise. May it be long and fruitful.

If Tyrese was crowned today, Bruce Brown was knighted. Pritchard said the team only made one call in Free Agency and it was to Brown. When they were modeling what to do this summer, Brown's name kept bubbling up. He possesses all of the traits they were targeting: 1) toughness, 2) a competitive spirit, 3) defensive ability, 4) the ability to play multiple positions, and 5) a winning pedigree.

Pritchard also gave credit to Carlisle for changing the team's culture. He expressed how fun it is for players to play fast and score the ball. Brown acknowledged that the style of play, and some recruiting from Tyrese, made him cancel the meetings he had lined up after the Pacers. I'm sure the financial offer played a part in his decision making as well.

Carlisle praised Brown's ability to play a variety of different roles. He noted the diversity of Brown's experience, from playing power forward with the Nets, to complementing Jokic on the wing. He left a hint as to where Brown might fit in on the Pacers, saying that he expects him to "play a little more conventionally with us." That leads me to believe they'll start Brown at small forward and not in the Aaron Nesmith role from last year. Brown did mention that Tyrese has spoken about playing more off-ball this year, saying he looks forward to initiating the offense in those scenarios.

More than anything, the team seems enamored with Brown's "indomitable spirit to win." They think he'll raise the standard of competitiveness in the locker room and the early results seem promising. He dragged Carlisle to the gym at 6:30 AM this morning, beginning his quest to prove that he's worth the massive contract he just signed.

From the bottom of my heart, Bruce, I hope you do just that.

Letting Go of the Past

Amidst all the jubilation, the talk of new beginnings, and the optimism about the future, the Pacers made another transaction today that went unaddressed. They traded 2021 lottery pick Chris Duarte to the Kings for the negligible sum of two future second round picks.

His trade was announced as a media dump, a distraction from the fact the team whiffed on yet another draft pick. I don't want to harp on the negative on an otherwise happy day, but Carlisle's talk about the dark days the team is leaving behind is a reminder that those dark days were substantially the product of stubbornness from the people leading the Pacers. Some of those stubborn men – the Nates, for example – are no longer around. But Pritchard and the front office deserve their fair share of blame.

Not only were they stubborn in trying to make Turbonis work, they were stubborn in believing that the team was anything more than a first round exit. Nobody encapsulates that inflexible, flawed logic more than Chris Duarte. The team drafted a 24-year-old rookie in the lottery because they thought he could help them "win now." They boasted about turning down trade offers from contenders, an ignorant chest thumping that only underscored how out of touch they were with their team's needs.

To the Pritchard & Co.'s credit, they did eventually pivot – and when they did, Haliburton was a helluva rabbit to pull out of the hat. But, increasingly, that trade feels like a stroke of luck. I can't help but wonder where the team would the team be if the stars hadn't aligned.

So as excited as I am about the future, I sincerely hope that the Front Office has more self-awareness as it attempts to construct another contender. And for the love of Reggie, we can't keep dumping first round picks before the end of their rookie contract.

Update on the Obi Toppin Trade

Now that Duarte is headed to Sacramento, we have an open roster spot to absorb Obi Toppin.

Obi was referenced multiple times during the press conference today, though not by name. Carlisle brought up how they now have the three leaders in transition EFG% from last year, in Toppin, Haliburton, and Brown. Pritchard also said that Toppin was the only other player the team made a call about since the draft (a statement I have trouble believing).

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