The Athletic ranks Indiana Pacers 2024 offseason as 14th best in the NBA

The Pacers are largely running it back next season

Feb 25, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA;Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam (43) is defended by Detroit Pistons center James Wiseman (13) in the first half at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

In a project for The Athletic, David Aldridge ranked the 2024 offseason for every NBA team from best to worst, and he placed the Indiana Pacers at 14 — slightly above average.

The Pacers largely retained their own talent. They kept Obi Toppin, Pascal Siakam, Quenton Jackson, and James Johnson in free agency while giving Andrew Nembhard a contract extension. Their core is locked up for a few years now.

Their summer additions were mostly younger players — Indiana added Johnny Furphy, Tristen Newton, and Enrique Freeman in the draft before signing James Wiseman and Cole Swider. So far, only Doug McDermott, Isaiah Wong, Jalen Smith, and Oscar Tshiebwe won't return from the 2023-24 campaign.

"It's one route that we've looked hard at. You've always got to look and see what's out there on the market," Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said of running it back with a similar roster. "Also very excited about the young core we have. It's a balance."

Running it back is hard to grade, but it made sense as a plan for the blue and gold. They are young yet talented — much of their rotation has fewer than five years of experience in the league, and they still reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Doing that again may be difficult, but they have enough collective ability to do it.

Aldridge likes that the Pacers, by keeping Siakam, can keep growing after originally adding the former All-NBA forward in January. "The Pacers clearly knew what it would take to keep Siakam when they got him from Toronto, but getting it done officially means the franchise can get on with its rise in the East. A full season of Siakam-Tyrese Haliburton-Myles Turner, at the pace Indiana plays, with now-proven postseason talent in abundance throughout the rotation, should give the Pacers a leg up over many of their competitors for a top-four berth in the East," Aldridge wrote. "No harm in taking a flier on Wiseman; the 2020 No. 2 pick can rebound and run the floor. He just needs to do it all of the time. Mathurin and 2023 first-rounder Jarace Walker have to find their way back into meaningful minutes after Rick Carlisle's group got so deep into the playoffs without them."

After their offseason, the Pacers are currently projected to win somewhere between 45 and 50 games by those who make predictions or set betting lines.

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