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Pacers are two wins away

I think you might be overrating Siakam, but I also think the Pacers still have enough to go to the ECF next year if things fall right. Of course, so do several other teams.

Siakam has averaged over 20 pts the last seven years straight. He's made 2nd and 3rd team all NBA. Nobody thinks of him because he's not loud and flashy. He's played in Toronto and Indiana, so not the best markets either.
 
Here's quite a coincidence I read on webz this morning:

Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard, and Tyrese Haliburton all injured their Achilles tendons during the 2025 playoffs.

Oh, and...

They all wear the jersey number "0".

😳
 
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The way they could occasionally deal with the OKC pressure was to have two excellent ballhandlers on the court at all times, two of Haliburton, Nesmith, and McConnell. Take Hali out and often you had only one, and it hurt. Mathurin, Nesmith, Toppin, Sheppard, et. al don't have PG-like handles. But if TJ had just called a TO or two when he was trapped.... yikes.
 
Tough crowd if a guy that has averaged 25 and 10 over his career (lead the league in assist thiz year) isn't considered a superstar....
How many superstars do you think there are in a sport? Do you believe there are 33 superstars in baseball or football, too?

I'd say there are at most 10 in a sport at one time. Sometimes fewer, maybe sometimes a few more. But it doesn't reach 20. That doesn't mean you can't call Siakam a "star" or a really good player, though.
 
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They've had every reason and opportunity to tank prior to this and never have. It's one of the things that have held them back. Never in the lottery because they win too much.

That is why I think letting Turner go might happen. It isn't tanking, they still can be decent enough to squeak into the playoffs, but get a better pick in the draft to be better in 26-27 and not pay the tax.

A real tank requires several players to leave. They won't/shouldn't do that.

Letting Turner walk sends a signal to fans they won't like. I just cannot see a Halliburton-less Pacer team catching lightening in a bottle the second time. So there is a risk of alienating true believers that think they'll win the East without him.
 
That is why I think letting Turner go might happen. It isn't tanking, they still can be decent enough to squeak into the playoffs, but get a better pick in the draft to be better in 26-27 and not pay the tax.

A real tank requires several players to leave. They won't/shouldn't do that.

Letting Turner walk sends a signal to fans they won't like. I just cannot see a Halliburton-less Pacer team catching lightening in a bottle the second time. So there is a risk of alienating true believers that think they'll win the East without him.
You never want to be in that middle tier, Marv. That is zombie land. Look at the Bulls the last decade.
 
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You never want to be in that middle tier, Marv. That is zombie land. Look at the Bulls the last decade.

Most teams don't, but the Pacer with Haliburton are better than a middle team. They are a middle team without him.

Remember the year Robinson was hurt and the Spurs got Duncan? That's the dream. But the Pacers are probably too good for that, and too unlucky to win the lottery if they miss out.

If Simon is OK with the tax, great. I just doubt he is. And of course now there are additional penalties on roster building when one is in the tax bracket.
 
Most teams don't, but the Pacer with Haliburton are better than a middle team. They are a middle team without him.

Remember the year Robinson was hurt and the Spurs got Duncan? That's the dream. But the Pacers are probably too good for that, and too unlucky to win the lottery if they miss out.

If Simon is OK with the tax, great. I just doubt he is. And of course now there are additional penalties on roster building when one is in the tax bracket.

Simon will go into the tax for a championship caliber team. But that's obviously not next year now.... So going to be a difficult decision with what you do with Turner.
 
I don't know. Turner is FA. Hali is out for a year? Front Office could take a step back and build for 26-27. There is no hope for Wiz and Nets but could see pacers taking a dive in the standings.

Mavs had never moved up in the draft ever. Probabaly some of the worst luck ever. Not even from pick 5 to pick 4. Not even when lottery odds were the same for all team in the lottery. Not Ever. They won their last game in 1992 and swapped places with Orlando in the ping ball allottment gping from 2nd worse to 3rd worse record. Mavs landed Jim Jackson at pick 4 and he held out for much of the season. buckner was horrible as coach. The Mavs were one of the worst team in history losing 71 games. The Orlando Magic with a 41-41 record jumped 10 spots to number 1 to draft Webber who they traded for pick 3 or 4 for Penny Hardaway. Mavs draft Mashburn 4th.

This year Mavs had to commit suicide and traded Luka and had such a messed up Cap scenario and so many injuries that they almost had to forfeit games. They missed not being in the lottery by one game losing the final West playin game for the 8 seed. They had 1.8% chance of winning the lottery as the 11th draft spot. It happened. Welcome to Dallas Cooper flagg. In 2024 the Hawks were in exact same situation with 1.8% chance and won the lotto. Their reward was Risacher in the 2024 draft. They also traded Luka for Trae Young in 2018 draft.

The Spurs are luckiest team in the lottery history I'd think. They jumped 3 spots to land David Robinson. They won the Duncan sweepstakes. They won the Wemby lotto. They moved from 8 to 2 and will lkely draft Harper. Almost got flagg.
 
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Simon will go into the tax for a championship caliber team. But that's obviously not next year now.... So going to be a difficult decision with what you do with Turner.
I’ve been a diehard Turner defender for years, but it’s hard to understate just how bad he was in the finals. The whole playoffs, really.

Toppin was a top 8 pick just 5 years ago. And he was a lot better than Myles this postseason.

Maybe give him a shot.

I think it’s gonna be hard to justify resigning him for the 30-35 million per year he’s reportedly looking for.
 
Yeah, but look at the people above on the Pacers side saying hell no.
No fan of Turner.

Picks are hit or miss, and more likely to be on the miss side.

Siakam I like but he’s your number 2 on a team with a star and he’d have to be number 1 in Milwaukee. That’s not going to cut it. No team is winning it with Siakam as number 1.

You’d have to put a lot more in that package to make it attractive to Milwaukee.
 
Indiana needs to play the long game. They have a deep, young team that has learned how to win the last two years. Haliburton’s injury is unfortunate, but it happens. Keep the team together and send the right signal to the fans, and more importantly, the players in the league that Indy takes care of their guys. You don’t want to get a reputation of being disloyal to your guys.

Re-sign Turner and run it back. Plug Mathurin into the starting lineup. He would’ve pushed for this next year anyway, being that his rookie contract is up. There are ways to go in or out of the tax, and any team with title aspirations are going into the tax at some point. Turner will still have good trade value next year at $30 per.

*Turner showed his loyalty to Indy two years ago by signing at a discount. They should be looking to add depth at center not moving off of it.
 
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No fan of Turner.

Picks are hit or miss, and more likely to be on the miss side.

Siakam I like but he’s your number 2 on a team with a star and he’d have to be number 1 in Milwaukee. That’s not going to cut it. No team is winning it with Siakam as number 1.

You’d have to put a lot more in that package to make it attractive to Milwaukee.
Ah, so you're saying Siakam is not a superstar?

Admit it, @Baller23Boogie. Admit it!
 
Ah, so you're saying Siakam is not a superstar?

Admit it, @Baller23Boogie. Admit it!

Admit you're wrong.. okay, you're wrong 🤣.

Giannis is going to be 31 in December. I don't think the Pacers would give up their starting PF, center AND picks for Giannis, especially if you're talking about Hali missing all next season.

Talk about playing the middle, that would be the very definition.
 
Admit you're wrong.. okay, you're wrong 🤣.

Giannis is going to be 31 in December. I don't think the Pacers would give up their starting PF, center AND picks for Giannis, especially if you're talking about Hali missing all next season.

Talk about playing the middle, that would be the very definition.
Good chance Hali is never the same…they need to take that into consideration when building a roster
 
I’ve been a diehard Turner defender for years, but it’s hard to understate just how bad he was in the finals. The whole playoffs, really.

Toppin was a top 8 pick just 5 years ago. And he was a lot better than Myles this postseason.

Maybe give him a shot.

I think it’s gonna be hard to justify resigning him for the 30-35 million per year he’s reportedly looking for.

I think they resign him. He didn't play well at all in the finals. But his style still works better in their system than any other alternative. And he remains one of the elite shot blockers in the league (think he was 2nd in the league this year). Along with being a 35% 3 PT shooter. That's not an easily replacement.

Also high character and great teammate.
 
I think they resign him. He didn't play well at all in the finals. But his style still works better in their system than any other alternative. And he remains one of the elite shot blockers in the league (think he was 2nd in the league this year). Along with being a 35% 3 PT shooter. That's not an easily replacement
He does become the shortest guy on the floor when they pass it inside to him on the post, or he tries to put back an offense rebound. I cringe every time. Luckily, it doesn't happen often during a game.
 
I think Hali's game is based 3 point shooting, running the offense and leadership not elite athleticism such as Ja. Ja is a complete knucklehead who has to mature into a leader for that team. He is exciting so hope he figures it out but he still seems more concerned about guns, his highlights and scoring. His 3 point % and TO rate are not good. His defense is meh. He will be nothing when his athleticism starts to decline.

Klay Thompson is doing just fine. Maybe a different type of player now than before his injury but he is like 35 so he maybe would of declined based on age. Probably a combination. Similar to Vince Carter when he played for Dallas late in his career. Carter didn't have an achilles injury that I remember.

The key to Turner is signing him to a reasonable contract.
 
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Anyone else old enough to remember the telethon to save the franchise?

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