Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton Opens Up About Ivica Zubac

The Indiana Pacers officially know their 2026-27 schedule, with the regular season set to open for the team on October 21 against the New Orleans Pelicans on the road.

Of course, that date is also expected to be the date that star point guard Tyrese Haliburton returns to the court from the torn Achilles he suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

When Haliburton returns to the court, he will be playing his first regular season game alongside of new star center Ivica Zubac. Kevin Pritchard and the Pacers' front office pulled off a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Clippers to acquire Zubac before last year's NBA trade deadline.

Zubac, who had spent the previous seven years with the Clippers, only played in five games for Indiana after the trade. He averaged 11.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 47.2 percent from the floor.

Prior to the trade with Los Angeles, Zubac played in 43 games. He had posted averages of 14.4 points, 11 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, shooting 61.3 percent from the floor.

With the duo gearing up for their first season together, Haliburton took some time to speak out about his new teammate.

First off, the star point guard revealed that he has yet to put in work with Zubac on the court.

"I have had zero court time with Zu," he said. "I don't think that's a concern, I really don't."

Haliburton went on to reveal why he isn't concerned about not spending much time with Zubac this offseason.

"I really don't have a concern cause he's very smart. The more time we get to experiment when we're playing five-on-five, I'll probably make sure he's on my team every single time."

Despite not being concerned about working things out with Zubac, Haliburton did acknowledge that there would be a period of time the two need to figure each other out.

"Everybody else I pretty much know how to play with at this point, but there is going to be a transition period for me. The last time I played, I was able to play with a guy who could really space the floor at the five, but I've never played with a screen setter like this (or) a roller like this."

Playing alongside of Myles Turner will be much different than Zubac. Turner was known for setting picks and popping for perimeter looks. Zubac has been working on his three-point ability, but he is mostly known for his skill-set around the rim.

It's going to be interesting to see how the two match up with each other.

At the end of the day, both Haliburton and Zubac are skilled veterans who are stars at their respective positions. They should be up to speed by the time the regular season arrives.