Ranking the trade assets of the Indiana Pacers

Bennedict Mathurin is without question a positive asset for the Indiana Pacers. Mathurin is in the final year of his contract and will be a restricted free agent. The reason why Indiana might look to move Benn comes down to 3 things: his role on the team, not seeing eye-to-eye on his next contract, and his long-term fit.

At just 23-years old, Mathurin has proven to be an elite scorer, as he dropped 27 points in 22 minutes in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. He's a super competitor that wants to be the best. Any team that might look to sign him in free agency, could get ahead of this with a trade to evaluate him over the final third of the season, while also obtaining his bird rights to match any offer sheet he could potentially sign.

Indiana has found great success with Haliburton paired in the backcourt with Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith's consistency on both ends of the floor have awarded him the starting 3 spot. This has put Mathurin into the 6th man role, and that might be a reason for him to look elsewhere in free agency.

Electing to trade the 6th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft will frustrate several fans, but if the Pacers do make that decision, it is more of a 'business move', than a 'we don't believe in Mathurin move'. Team building comes with tough decisions, and this is the toughest one for Kevin Pritchard and company to make.

Jarace Walker

Although the 8th overall pick from the 2023 NBA Draft is just 22 years old, I would view his current value as neutral. Walker has proven to be an elite three-point shooter in the league, but that was not what he was drafted for. He was selected to be a terrific defender, who can play-make and play multiple roles.

In his young career, he is still showing too many signs of inconsistency for anyone to be able to fully know what his ceiling is. There have been flashes of high level play, but until he is able to put it all together on a consistent basis, teams that have interest will not net the Pacers greater value than the 8th overall pick.

Isaiah Jackson

After Myles Turner left in free agency, Indiana offered Isaiah Jackson to a 3-year, 21-million dollar contract. He is the highest paid center on the Pacers, and was awarded the starter role to start the year.

Jackson ultimately lost that spot to Jay Huff, and aside from a few games, he has yet to prove that he is a starting caliber center. At times has not closed games as the backup center, making his value negative.

To be fair to Jackson, he did tear his Achilles on November 1, 2024, and coming back from that has had its ups and downs. He also missed 13-games due to a concussion he suffered against the Boston Celtics in December, where he took an inadvertent elbow to the head. It would be hard to see a team looking to deal for Jackson, but if attached with a positive asset he could be moved.

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