How much salary cap space the Indiana Pacers still have in 2023
It's nearly August, meaning NBA free agency has slowed down tremendously. More moves won't likely be made until a significant trade happens or the regular season is closer.
The Indiana Pacers do have the tools to make more moves, though. There are several transactions the team could still make this offseason, and some of them will be made in September or October.
If the blue and gold do decide to make another signing, they have the cap space to do so. The Pacers started off the free agency period with just over $32.2 million in room, a small bump over their pre-offseason projections. That's because the salary cap jumped slightly over the original projections, and Indiana also made two draft trades involving first-round picks that altered their cap situation.
The team cleared just over $4 million in space when they traded Chris Duarte to the Sacramento Kings. But they filled it with their two biggest offseason acquisitions — wing Bruce Brown (signed for two-years, $45 million) and forward Obi Toppin (acquired via trade with one-year, $6.8 million remaining).
Those three moves, in tandem, ate up $24.8 million of Indiana's cap room. That leaves the team currently sitting with just shy of $7.5 million left to spend.
That could go to a free agent(s), a player on the roster via renegotiation, or be used to take in a player via trade. There is no best way for the Pacers to use that space, and they could even hold it into the season. The front office typically values flexibility.
With few impactful free agents still available and Indiana's roster containing 15 players on standard NBA contracts, a move feels unlikely unless a trade happens. The team's cap space is still valuable, but it may go unused for a while until the transactional landscape changes.
The Pacers were smart with how they spent this summer, and they still have about $7.5 million in room left. They also have the $7.7 million Room Exception available to make a signing, if they are so inclined.
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