Pacers Reveal How Long They'll Wait Before Judging New-Look Roster

Chad Buchanan wants roughly 25 to 30 games before the Indiana Pacers decide whether their new group fits together. The general manager set that marker Thursday at the team's charity golf event, with media day four days away. He also said Tyrese Haliburton will be 100% full go when camp opens.

Buchanan said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle's teams have tended to get better as a season goes on.

"Tough to say on that," Buchanan said. "I think we've seen this group in the past get off to slow starts and rebound and find their groove. Adding a different stylistic player. The one thing I think we have going for us is Tyrese is very good at figuring out his teammates, as is our coach and our coaching staff."

"And Zu brings a different element from the center position," Buchanan continued. "Some things that he does that Myles maybe didn't, if we're talking about our previous center. But there's a lot of things that Zu does bring to this group that I think will accentuate what we already have in house. And I think you hope by 25, 30 games in, you start to see some signs of whether it's clicking or it's not."

"But we're also gonna be patient with this group," Buchanan added. "We're not gonna make quick determination on whether this group is fitting together or not after we get off to a slow start after 10 games. That's just not a prudent way to approach this group. 'Cause one thing that's been an identity of Rick's teams is they get better as the season progresses, and that's been the identity of this group too."

In 2024-25, a Dec. 8 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets dropped Indiana to 10-15 and 10th in the Eastern Conference. Haliburton shot 38% from the field in the first month of that season. Andrew Nembhard missed most of a month with knee inflammation, and Aaron Nesmith missed two and a half months with a sprained ankle.

The Pacers finished 50-32 as the No. 4 seed. They won playoff series against Milwaukee, Cleveland, and New York on the way to the NBA Finals, their first trip there since 2000.

Haliburton and Zubac have never played an NBA game together. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. signed in July, and rookie Braden Smith signed a two-way deal in August.

The first five games come in eight days: at New Orleans on Oct. 21, home against the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 23, at the Brooklyn Nets on Oct. 25, at the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 26, and home against the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 28. Indiana also plays the Denver Nuggets in Mexico City on Nov. 7 and works through NBA Cup group play from Oct. 30 through Nov. 27, against the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, 76ers, and Miami Heat.

Indiana won 19 games last season, the lowest total the franchise has ever posted, and lost 63.

Buchanan said the organization owns that record.

"Last year was tough for all of us," Buchanan explained. "Obviously our coaches and players put their heart and soul into everything every day with their work and preparing for games and practices. To go through a season like that tests you, not only as an individual, but as a team and as an organization. I think as we got into it last year, [we] were hopeful and optimistic because we felt like we still had a good crew of players to be competitive. And we faced some injury challenges along the way. And ultimately we own it. It's 19 wins and that's us. That was our season. That's who [we] were."

"But we're also — it's time to move forward," Buchanan detailed. "And I think in the back of our mind we knew that next year was going to be, hopefully, have a little better injury fortune and have some of our guys back. And we knew this core, this team had shown that it could be very, very competitive at a high, high level in this league. And now that we're here, it's a long offseason. It was a long 82 games, and I think everybody is ready to go, from coaches to players, staff. We're just anxious to get back on the court and see this group together again."

Haliburton missed the entire season after tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2025 Finals. Johnny Furphy tore his ACL on Feb. 8. Ivica Zubac played five games after the Feb. 5 trade that brought him from the LA Clippers. Nembhard, Nesmith, Obi Toppin, and T.J. McConnell all missed time, and Pascal Siakam played 62 games.

Buchanan said Carlisle and his staff kept the culture tight through the losing.

"You hope so," Buchanan said. "I think you go through good times, it's easy to be in a good mood and everybody's wanting to go to dinner with each other and everybody's all upbeat. But last year you find out really what your fiber is. What was your team about? And Coach Carlisle, much credit to him and his staff for keeping that culture tight. I didn't notice anything. I think if you guys would have walked into our locker room in February when [we] had 11 wins and been around our team and our staff, you wouldn't have guessed what our record was, because our coaches [do] a great job, our staff does such a great job, and our leaders in our locker room have done such a great job of, 'Hey, we're together. We're sticking through this. Even though it's been tough times this year, we're gonna stay together, 'cause better times can be ahead.'"

"And I think that's gonna help us this year when we get tough stretches, 'cause 82 games reveals everything about your team," Buchanan continued. "You can't hide any weakness about your team over 82 games. Teams, coaches are too good, players are too good. They'll find it and exploit it. And those are the moments where we've got to stick together and rely on each other, rely on our coaches. I think there will be some benefits from what went through last year with this group."

This is Carlisle's sixth straight season on the Indiana bench since he returned in 2021. The Pacers hold media day Monday, open camp Tuesday, and start the regular season Oct. 21 at New Orleans.