The Pacers enter the season with a major leadership void
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The Pacers will attack the season without their two best playmakers, Tyrese Halliburton etc TJ McConnell. The former will miss the entire season, while the latter will not return for a month due to a thigh injury. Despite this, the leaders decided not to keep Cameron Payne, arrived during the preseason.
Recruited to fill this gap at the front, Payne was unconvinced. In three preseason games, he averaged 6.7 points and 2.3 assists, but with disastrous skill (28.6% shooting) and a +/- of -47 in 51 minutes. The former Suns and Knicks player did not play the first half of the last game against the Spurs – a warning sign.
The Pacers also considered signing Delon Wright, then Monte Morris, but his calf injury cooled the leaders. The result: Days before Thursday night’s game against the Thunder, Andrew Nembhardt is the only leader available full-time.
Behind him, newcomer Taelon Peter, in “two-way contract“, he recovered minutes as a backup, but it’s not his natural position. Quenton Jackson is injured, so is Cam Jones.
The Pacers have until Monday night to finalize their team, and a new leader could arrive quickly. And why not Ben Simmons, still without a contract…
Two-way contract : Designed to create a new bridge between the NBA and the G-League, this type of contract allows each team to secure the services of two or three additional players, to play them mostly in their affiliate development league franchise, but also for up to 50 games in the NBA.
2025-10-19 08:03:00
