Indiana Pacers Reportedly Could Sign NBA Champion

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports, the Indiana Pacers could be a landing spot for NBA Champion Harrison Barnes.

Harrison Barnes has been one of the best role players in the league since being drafted with the seventh pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors. 

This past year, he finished his fifth season playing for the Sacramento Kings and averaged 15.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest while shooting 47.3% from the field and 37.4% from the three-point range.   

The 31-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and on Tuesday, Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports reported that the Indiana Pacers could be a landing spot.  

Via Fischer's article on Yahoo! Sports: "The Pacers, sources said, are also a strong contender to sign Harrison Barnes from the Sacramento Kings. Barnes had a close relationship with All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton during their overlapping tenure in Northern California, and Barnes has further support from Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle dating back to shared days with the Mavericks."

Fresh intel notebook just dropped @YahooSports. The forward market is crowded after John Collins' trade to Utah, including Indiana, Orlando, Sacramento. The latest on Kyle Kuzma and KJ Martin. Plus other dominos teams are waiting to see fall in succession: https://t.co/xW7AiAj1CX

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) June 27, 2023

The Pacers have been in rebuilding mode for the last two seasons, but they are coming off a year where they were surprisingly competitive.    

Despite finishing as the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 35-47 record, they looked like they could have been an NBA Playoff team due to the play of All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton.    

The former Iowa State star averaged 20.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals per contest while shooting 49.0% from the field and 40.0% from the three-point range.   

Adding a player like Barnes could make the Pacers a legitimate contender to make the Playoffs. 

They will likely be among the teams with the most cap space heading into free agency.