Pacers GM Chad Buchanan says Indiana wants Jarace Walker to simplify his game, provide less playmaking and deliver more consistent defense and finishing.
Jarace Walker's role changes this season, and Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said Thursday that the team will ask him for less playmaking than it did in 2025-26. Buchanan spoke at the Pacers Foundation golf outing, five days before training camp opens.
Walker appeared in 76 games last season and started 41. He averaged 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 25.7 minutes, shooting 41.9% from the field and 37.4% from 3-point range. The points, rebounds, and assists were career highs, as were his 1.8 made 3-pointers per game.
Over his final 22 games, after the All-Star break, he averaged 14.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. He shot 39.2% from deep in that stretch.
Pacers Want More Consistency From Jarace Walker
Buchanan said Walker had months of encouraging play last season, and that the challenge now is sustaining it.
"The word force is spot on for what we wanna see from Jarace[:] consistency, playing with physicality and force," Buchanan said. "He showed some really bright spots last year. [The] season was a tough year for our team, but there was months and stretches of play for him that were really encouraging. He's just gotta sustain it. That's the challenge of being a young player in our league."
"And I think he knows and understands what we need from him," Buchanan continued. "His role will be a little different this year than it was last year. And the more simplified he can keep his game, the more he can focus on helping us doing the little things defensively, cutting, finishing at the rim. We don't need a lot of playmaking necessarily from him like maybe we did last year."
"And I think part of his maturity and growth as a player is understanding what the team needs from him," Buchanan added. "And I think we've got to see him do it. He's got to do it night to night. It can't just be for a week or two at a time. It's got to be night to night because our bench needs the depth."
Walker's Role Changes With Haliburton Back
Tyrese Haliburton missed all of last season with a torn Achilles tendon. He returns to a starting group projected to include Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac. Walker is in line for the backup minutes at small forward behind Nesmith.
Indiana has 14 players under guaranteed standard deals, leaving the 15th spot open. Two veterans joined that bench in July. Kelly Oubre Jr. signed for two years and $16.5 million through the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Larry Nance Jr. took a one-year minimum deal.
Bennedict Mathurin, second on the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game when he was dealt, went to the LA Clippers in the Zubac trade in February.
Pacers Want Walker to Embrace an OG Anunoby-Type Role
In July, Buchanan compared the version of Walker he wants to OG Anunoby of the New York Knicks.
The Washington Wizards drafted Walker eighth overall in 2023 and traded him to Indiana that offseason. He played one season at Houston, where he averaged 11.2 points and 6.8 rebounds and was the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. Indiana exercised his $8.48 million team option for 2026-27 in October 2025, the fourth year of his rookie-scale deal.
In 2024-25, Walker played 75 games with five starts. He averaged 6.1 points in 15.8 minutes. His career 3-point percentage stands at 38.6%.
Walker Enters Fourth NBA Season
Walker, Jalen Slawson, and Kobe Brown were pictured this offseason at a minicamp with Pascal Siakam and members of the Pacers training staff. Siakam led Indiana in scoring last season at 24.0 points per game.
He turned 23 on Sept. 4. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle is entering the sixth season of his second stint with the franchise. The Pacers hold media day Monday and open camp Tuesday.
