NBA Notes: Pacers, offseason, Mavericks, front office, James Wiseman

Pacers

The Pacers sound serious about chasing a championship. Possibly serious enough to pay the luxury tax for the first time in two decades.

General manager Chad Buchanan said during a recent radio appearance that Indiana recognizes it’s operating in a “win-now window” and plans to be aggressive this offseason, even if that means crossing the projected tax line for 2026-27.

“That’s a very real possibility,” Buchanan said, via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star.

That’s notable because the Pacers haven’t been a taxpaying team since 2006. Historically, ownership has been extremely cautious financially. But Buchanan made it pretty clear the organization views this roster differently.

“(Owner Herb Simon) and our whole front office, we want to be aggressive and try to put this team in the best position to win a championship,” Buchanan said.

Indiana already signaled its mindset in February by trading a valuable future first-round pick to acquire Ivica Zubac from the Clippers. That deal ultimately cost the Pacers the No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft after the selection failed to land in the protected range.

No regrets, apparently.

“Regardless of how it turned out, I would still make this trade,” Buchanan said. “I’m a big believer in this group.”

He added that Indiana narrowed its deadline search to Zubac and one other center before deciding to “be aggressive.”

Translation: the Pacers believe this core is ready right now.

Mavericks

The organizational shakeup continues in Dallas.

Just days after the Mavericks hired Masai Ujiri as president and Mike Schmitz as general manager, the franchise parted ways with coach Jason Kidd and is also losing executive Matt Riccardi.

According to Jake Fischer, Riccardi is departing the organization after serving as co-interim GM alongside Michael Finley during the team’s transition period following the firing of Nico Harrison.

Interestingly, Fischer reported Riccardi actually finished as the runner-up to Ujiri during Dallas’ executive search. Now he’s out entirely.

Marc Stein described the situation as part of a “flurry” of front-office and coaching staff changes as Ujiri begins reshaping the franchise around Cooper Flagg and the Mavericks’ new direction.

At this point, almost nothing from the previous regime appears guaranteed to remain untouched.

Free Agency

Could James Wiseman be headed overseas? Apparently, it’s a legitimate possibility.

According to reports relayed by Sportando, Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv has made an offer to the former No. 2 overall pick.

Wiseman reportedly is considering the move in hopes of finding a larger, more stable role after injuries largely derailed the early years of his NBA career.

The 24-year-old appeared in just four games with Indiana this past season before being released shortly after Christmas. Before that, he essentially lost an entire season recovering from an Achilles tear.

A move overseas might honestly give him the consistent opportunity he hasn’t really found yet in the NBA.