Pacers Urged to Sign Best Free Agent Available With Remaining Cap Space

An insider is urging the Indiana Pacers to sign an elite free agent this summer.

The club finds itself at an impasse: most of the core pieces from Indiana's run to a seven-game NBA Finals appearance against the Oklahoma City Thunder this June — but two starters will be gone in 2025-26.

During the first quarter of that fateful Game 7, two-time All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton ruptured his Achilles tendon. The 6-foot-5 Iowa State product is already set to miss the entire forthcoming season. That may have helped lead to 3-and-D starting center Myles Turner's free agent departure to the Milwaukee Bucks.

So the Pacers won't really be competing for a title again this year, without an All-NBA-caliber reinforcement in the wings at either position.

Still, assuming the 25-year-old Haliburton's return is more in line with 15-time All-Star Houston Rockets power forward Kevin Durant's comeback from his own 2019 Achilles tear than with Kobe Bryant's return from his career-changing 2013 tear.

So with some solid free agents still on the market and money left to burn, would the infamously frugal Pacers be open to making a long-term play to help shore up their depth for future seasons beyond 2025-26?

A Perimeter Sharpshooter from a Central Division Nemesis

Caleb Nixon of ClutchPoints writes that free agent former Detroit Pistons marksman Malik Beasley, who had been persona non grata because of a gambling investigation for much of the summer before getting cleared last week, would be a great fit for the Pacers.

"The Indiana Pacers are one of the only playoff teams that can offer Beasley more than $7.2 million per year, according to [ESPN's Shams] Charania," Nixon writes. "The Pacers currently have around $14 million in cap space before they enter the first apron."

Indiana has multiple avenues through which it could pay Beasley a salary commensurate with his production.

"They have also yet to use their non-taxpayer mid-level exception, meaning their offer for Beasley could range between $10-$14 million per year," Nixon notes. "Without Tyrese Haliburton for much, if not all, of the 2025-26 season, the Pacers need offense."

"If Andrew Nembhard takes over point guard responsibilities, Beasley could stretch the floor and support the Pacers' fast, high-energy offensive attack," Nixon adds.