Indiana Pacers attempting to blend long-term vision with postseason hopes

The Pacers are trying to get better in the short and long term

The Indiana Pacers front office had a shift in thinking last summer. They wanted to think longer term and focus on the bigger picture in an attempt to raise their ceiling as a team.

"We've been looking at one and two [year increments], and now we're looking at three and four," President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said at the time.

There was a problem, though. Indiana was good right away. Thanks to improvement from Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner combined with solid, yet inconsistent, play from many youngsters, the 2022-23 Pacers raced ahead. On December 1, they were fourth in the Eastern Conference. Halfway through the season, they were 23-18. They stayed in sixth place until January 13.

Keeping a long-term approach could have been difficult. The blue and gold were a playoff team until Haliburton had an injury in mid-January. But his absence led to a stretch of losses, and the team never recovered. They finished 35-47, 11th in the East and good enough for the seventh-best lottery odds.

Longer-term thinking juxtaposed with a successful season put the Pacers in a tough spot. How can they manage both goals? They were decent last year, and multiple players have stated their desire to reach the postseason in 2023-24. "I think for us, it's making the playoffs and just really taking that big step forward," forward Jordan Nwora said of the team's goals.

A postseason berth is a short-term goal. Sustained success is a long-term objective. The Pacers have to balance both of those hopes, and that's what this offseason was about.

The additions of Bruce Brown and Obi Toppin will make the Pacers better and improve their playoff odds. But adding Jarace Walker into the rotation, a rookie, is a long-term move. In fact, of the Pacers 10 projected rotation players, over half of them have fewer than four years of NBA experience. While many hope they make the playoffs, the franchise is still balancing the desire with a long-term approach.

General manager Chad Buchanan was asked about that reality earlier this week. "I would say I wouldn't want to put a win total or an ultimate goal for this season. I think we're trying to continue to look long term," he said. Long-term thinking was a theme of his media availability on Tuesday. "I think we want to see growth and progress. We're not going to take a shortcut to try to jump into a playoff hunt right away with any sort of move or anything like that. I think we'll know as the season develops where this team can get to."

Indiana's last playoff game was in 2020, and their last postseason victory was in 2018. It's been a while since they had success beyond the regular season. Haliburton has never reached the playoffs.

But the star point guard is under contract for the next six seasons. That's a long time in the NBA, so Indiana can be somewhat patient. They also have a surplus of draft picks, including all of their own first-round selections, if they want to hit the accelerator in the future. They are set up well for the remainder of the decade.

They also have a chance to be good this season. "I think every season is different. Every team has a different identity. We're hopeful that this team can compete to get to that level," Buchanan said. "But our ultimate goal is down the road trying to be great, to compete for a championship and be an elite team. That's not going to happen right away, and we don't want to skip steps to get there."

New additions Brown and Toppin could be free agents next summer. That isn't to say Indiana won't keep them — it's very easy to imagine the scenario in which both players stay with the blue and gold. But it does show that the team is balancing the present and the future. They added talent in a non-committal manner this offseason.

A play-in berth would be natural for the improving Pacers. A postseason appearance could come as a result of that. And Indiana still has a ton of ways to maneuver to be even better in future campaigns. 

"The roster we have is deep," Buchanan said, noting there will be a lot of competition.  "I think our coaches want to win, obviously, our players want to win. Us as a front office, we've got to balance the long-term outlook. But also, the players want to compete. They're competitors. Our coaches are competitors."

How those two goals collide could define the Pacers season. If their young players take a step forward and the team is successful, then they are both competitive and set up well for the long haul. If they need to rely on their veterans to squeak into the play-in, or miss it entirely, they may be further away from success and have work to do with their core.

There could, and likely will, be a blend of those two outcomes. The Pacers 2023-24 campaign may be remembered by which outcome they end up closer to.

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