![]() ![]() Other than being a tremendous dunker, there wasn’t much else Toppin showed that would command big minutes. Toppin struggled to get playing time in New York for two glaring reasons: he couldn’t create his own shot and didn’t play defense well enough for coach Tom Thibodeau. 8 pick in 2020, rather quickly and gave him away (for a pair of second-rounders), which is never a good sign. If his transition to the NBA is quick, Walker can compete for decent minutes at power forward against another one of Indiana’s offseason pickups: Toppin. Indiana also added to the front line through the Draft, using their lottery pick in Walker, a bullish 6-foot-8 forward who two years ago was one of the best prep players in his class. Relive classics today on NBA TV □□ /J691oGnu4c This time, someone had to pay, and it was Indiana, giving him two years and $45 million - a reasonable price for an energetic player who can create and defend. He couldn’t get a decent free-agent contract the previous summer when the money dried up, so the Nuggets had him at a bargain rate last season, and he was among the best values ($7 million) in basketball. So their loss was Indy’s gain - and Brown’s, too. That mission was accomplished when the Pacers stole Bruce Brown from the Nuggets, who were in no position to re-sign the free agent swingman. If you can’t win a championship, then bring a championship mentality to the team. Otherwise, the Pacers were the picture of inconsistency, both in terms of player and team performance, and entered the summer looking for a way out of no-man’s land. Also, Benedict Mathurin was the league’s top rookie for the first two months before hitting a wall. He established himself as one of the best point guards in the league by finishing as the NBA runner-up in assists and making the All-Star team.Ĭenter Myles Turner was finally removed from the trade rumor mill with a decent season (18 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game) and a contract extension. Tyrese Haliburton was definitely the former. As is the case with these situations, there was good and not so good. So, the reality was Indiana received essentially nothing for winning 35 games … or for losing 47. They weren’t good enough to make the playoffs and yet also not bad enough for a realistic shot at landing Victor Wembanyama. ![]() It was seven months of “meh” for the Pacers, who were mired in mediocrity, a painful place to be. G Bruce Brown (free agent), G Ben Sheppard (draft), F Jarace Walker (draft), F Obi Toppin (trade).Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton will look to power the Pacers back to the playoffs for the 1st time since 2020. ![]()
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