How the Pacers were built: The deals that built a playoff team

INDIANAPOLIS -- The official beginning of the overhaul began at the trade deadline in February of 2022. It was the first season of Rick Carlisle's second stint as Pacers head coach, and it was clear that the roster they had wasn't taking them anywhere.

As of Feb. 6, 2022, the day before they made their first trade of the cycle, they were 19-36, having won just seven of 27 games since Dec. 10. The deals they made at the deadline didn't keep what was a three-game losing streak on Feb. 6 from turning into a seven-game skid by Feb. 15. They went 6-21 after the deadline to finish 25-57, losing their last 10 games to establish that they were in rebuild mode.

"When we had to basically squash this thing 2 1/2 years ago and start over, when you start using the 'R' word, it can get ugly," Carlisle said. "There's teams that were rebuilding for nine years."

The Pacers, however, managed to complete a near-total roster overhaul and turn a 25-57 team into not only a playoff squad, but one that enters Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with a real chance to advance to the NBA's final four. The Pacers 121-89 blowout win in Game 4 tied their series with the Knicks at 2-2 as the series heads back to Madison Square Garden for an 8 p.m. tip on Tuesday night with a Game 6 guaranteed to come back to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Friday.

Just three players who were part of the organization on Feb. 6, 2022 are on the current roster -- centers Myles Turner and Isaiah Jackson, and point guard T.J. McConnell -- and all three were inactive for the Pacers' loss to Cleveland that night. The starting five of guards Justin Holiday, Chris Duarte and Keifer Sykes, forward Torrey Craig and center Domantas Sabonis have all been gone since at least July. Same goes for the bench of Duane Washington Jr., Oshae Brissett, Goga Bitadze, Lance Stephenson, Terry Taylor and Jeremy Lamb. In their place is a roster that led the NBA in scoring this season but also bench scoring, as the Pacers not only built a starting five good enough to contend, but depth that is the envy of most of the league.

What follows is a timeline of how the Pacers built this roster, including not just the pivotal moments at the 2022 trade deadline but some of those before. Back-to-back years of drafting in the top 10 helped the Pacers get where they are, but one of their two top-10 picks is out for the year with a torn labrum and the other hasn't been part of the rotation. The Pacers' personnel brain trust -- led by president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard and general manager Chad Buchanan -- constructed this team with moves shrewd and bold, with headline grabbing deals and others that barely made a splash, creating a group with talent and chemistry. Together they won the Pacers' first playoff series in a decade and have a chance to win a second this year with much of their core either guaranteed or likely to be together for years to come.

"The thing I love about our team is we're a true team. We have some great individual players but it's a group that needs each other," Carlisle said. "...Kevin and Chad have done a great job of not only collecting a group of young talented players but great people."

Here's how they did it.

June 25, 2015: The drafting of Myles Turner at No. 11 overall

The Pacers drafted Turner when Frank Vogel was still the coach and Larry Bird was still making the executive decisions, but the move was foundational in the construction of this roster.

Turner has seen his role change several times in the nine seasons since he was essentially taken to replace Roy Hibbert. At age 28 he's already the Pacers' all-time leading shot blocker, and his ability to score at all three levels makes him a perfect ball screen partner with Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. His ability to space the floor is a big part of the reason why the Pacers can play as much of a wide-open game as they do and even though they aren't the best defensive team, he's still the Pacers defensive backbone.

July 29, 2019: The signing of T.J. McConnell

The Pacers originally signed McConnell away from the 76ers for two years and a total of $7 million, which at the time represented a doubling of his annual salary. McConnell's role was shrinking with Philadelphia as they took further stages in The Process and became an Eastern Conference contender after winning just 10 games in his rookie year and 28 games in his second season.

The perpetually underestimated and undrafted McConnell carved out a role on Nate McMillan's team at the time as a defensive pest, paint attacker and offensive distributor, but his career has taken an additional ascension in Year 8 and 9 under Carlisle. He's thrived in the Pacers' uptempo environment without sacrificing the other parts of his game and he's had his two most productive offensive seasons the last two years at age 31 and 32.

July 29, 2021: The drafting of Isaiah Jackson

The Pacers had a lottery pick in the 2021 draft at No. 13 and used it on guard Chris Duarte, who was already 24 coming out of Oregon. They acquired another first-rounder through a five-way trade that cost them Aaron Holiday and the No. 31 pick in the draft to move up to No. 22 to take then 19-year-old Isaiah Jackson from Kentucky, giving them a younger big man with a high ceiling.

Jackson has spent three seasons in a constant battle for playing time, going back and forth between the No. 2 and No. 3 center spot behind Turner, but his athleticism and activity have paid off with lob dunks, blocked shots and rebounds, which is why he's getting rotation minutes in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Feb. 7, 2022: The Caris LeVert trade

Moving LeVert was the first sign the Pacers were bought in for a true rebuild. He had been the headline acquisition for the Pacers in the January, 2021 four-team deal that sent Victor Oladipo to the Rockets. He'd averaged 19.6 points and 4.7 assists per game in 74 starts over what were essentially two half-seasons for the Pacers, but he was sent to Cleveland for assets that weren't going to produce immediately. The Pacers got Ricky Rubio in the deal, but Rubio had suffered a season-ending torn ACL in December and his contract expired in July. He never wore a Pacers uniform.

However, the Pacers got from the Cavaliers a 2022 second-round pick and 2023 first-round pick as well as a 2027 second-round pick. The first two choices turned into players the Pacers now have in their playoff rotation.

Feb. 8, 2022: The Tyrese Haliburton-Domantas Sabonis deal

Rarely in league history have two teams that were headed to the lottery made such a significant franchise altering deal at the trade deadline.

The Pacers and Kings each found themselves loaded at one position and bereft at another. The Pacers had two young talented big men stepping on each other's toes in Turner and All-Star Domantas Sabonis, forcing Turner to play out of his natural position at power forward, and they needed a play-making lead guard. The Kings had two talented young lead guards in De'Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton trying to play off each other, but they were starting Richaun Holmes at center. The Pacers and Kings saw an opportunity to help each other out, and did so even though they knew they'd each face blowback for letting go of a young talented player.

The Pacers sent the Kings Sabonis along with Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a second-round draft pick. They got Haliburton along with sharpshooter Buddy Hield and veteran big man Tristan Thompson, who played in just four games. Sabonis has averaged at least 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in each of the last two seasons, earning All-Star and All-NBA honors last season and finishing in the top 10 of the MVP voting this year. He helped lead the Kings to the end of their 16-year playoff drought in 2023. Haliburton has been an All-Star each of the last two seasons, he led the NBA in assists this year and his ability to elevate everyone else on the Pacers' roster immediately accelerated their rebuild timeline.

"Kevin and Chad struck gold with Tyrese," Carlisle said, "and it turned out to be a great trade for Sacramento."

Feb. 10, 2022; The Torrey Craig-Jalen Smith deal

The Phoenix Suns were in need of a two-way wing for their postseason push in 2022 when they had the best record in the NBA. They were willing to part with a young talented big man with outside shooting ability in Jalen Smith.

Smith struggled down the stretch in the regular season and has been used sparingly in the playoffs, but for much of 2023-24 he was one of the Pacers' most reliable bench players, posting 20.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per 36 minutes and shooting 59.2% from the floor and 42.4% from 3-point range.

June 23, 2022: Pacers draft Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard

The Pacers' brutal finish allowed them to pick in the top nine of the draft for the first time since 1989 when they selected George McCloud. They used the No. 6 pick overall on Bennedict Mathurin, an explosive shooting guard from Arizona coming off a season in which he was named an All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year. He earned the hype surrounding his selection in his first season by averaging 16.7 points per game, scoring the third most total points (1,302) for a Pacers rookie in history behind Clark Kellogg and Chuck Person and becoming the first Pacer to be named first-team All-Rookie since Rik Smits in 1989.

Mathurin's second year showed some growing pains, but he still averaged 14.5 points per game before a torn labrum suffered March 5 in a game against the Mavericks ended his season. He hasn't been part of the playoffs or the stretch run, but he's still considered a potentially important piece of the organization's future.

The Pacers' second pick in that draft hasn't been as prolific, but he's been steady and that's won him a starting job. Andrew Nembhard, selected No. 31 overall with the pick the Pacers acquired from the Cavaliers in the LeVert trade, was a point guard at Gonzaga, but the Pacers moved him off the ball to get him in the starting lineup with Haliburton. He's become one of the Pacers top two perimeter defenders, and though his offensive contributions have been modest, he drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat the Lakers in 2022 and his late-shot clock, 30-foot 3-pointer in Game 3 against the Knicks turned the tide in this series.

July 1, 2022: The Malcolm Brogdon-Aaron Nesmith deal

The acquisition of Haliburton made veteran Malcolm Brogdon a little redundant as a lead guard and it made little sense to continue paying him over $20 million per year if they were going to give Haliburton the keys, so when the calendar year flipped they looked to move him for young assets. They found a taker in the Celtics, who were looking to build out their second unit. Boston gave the Pacers a veteran backup center in Daniel Theis, a veteran shooter in Nik Stauskas as well as a number of mostly young players who weren't getting much playing time in Juwan Morgan, Malik Fitts and Aaron Nesmith. A 2023 first-round pick was also part of the deal.

The Pacers released Morgan, Fitts and Stauskas almost immediately to clear out space to try to sign restricted free agent DeAndre Ayton, a move that didn't work because the Suns matched his offer sheet. Theis spent most of his first year recovering from knee surgery and ended up appearing in just eight games for the Pacers before they bought out his contract earlier this season to allow him to fill an opening with the Clippers.

Nesmith, however, has become a foundational piece. His playing time was limited in Boston behind All-NBA wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown among others, but he got an immediate opportunity to play with the Pacers and ran with it. Playing both forward positions, he signed up for all forms of dirty-work jobs including defensive assignments that included All-Stars at every position from 1-5 and proved to be one of the Pacers' most physical defenders. That and his outside shooting won him a starting job and a three-year contract extension signed this offseason at $33 million, suggesting the Pacers view him as a long-term glue guy.

Jan. 28, 2023: The Myles Turner extension

Turner had been hearing trade rumors involving him for years, and by the start of the 2022-23 season it seemed to be a stone-cold certainty that he would be moved. He even participated in the talk himself by telling ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on his podcast that the Lakers should seriously consider adding him.

But once he finally got healthy after several ailments to start that season, his chemistry with Haliburton was obvious and the Pacers decided to send a message that they wanted Turner as part of their long-term plans. Since they were well under the salary cap for the season, they could tack on money to his 2022-23 salary to add to its total value and add years to the deal. The total package for two extra years was $60 million with 17.1 million of that coming up front to make his 2022-23 salary $37.1 million. Turner finally got to go through a trade deadline and an offseason without looking over his shoulder and the security seemed to energize him going into 2023-24.

Feb. 9, 2023: Pacers add Jordan Nwora, George Hill

The re-signing of Turner ended up being the Pacers' biggest deadline news. Pritchard said he made some significant offers that didn't work out and so the Pacers instead decided to hold on to the draft picks and cap space they had to try to make moves for later.

However, when they saw an opportunity to add a few pieces without giving up much, they took it. The trade that sent Kevin Durant from Brooklyn to the Suns set off a chain reaction that turned into a four-team deal. The Bucks got Jae Crowder from Phoenix and had to part ways with some players to clean out space. The Pacers took on Jordan Nwora, George Hill and Serge Ibaka from the Bucks, which forced them to waive Goga Bitadze, Terry Taylor and James Johnson. They then bought out Ibaka and re-signed Johnson, but kept Hill as a veteran voice until the end of the season and used Nwora as a trade chip later.

June 22, 2023: Pacers draft Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard

A 35-47 record in 2022-23 still allowed the Pacers to pick in the top 10 for a second straight year. They traded the No. 7 pick to the Wizards for the No. 8 pick at the last second because they knew Washington wanted Bilal Coulibaly and would be willing to give up something for him. However, in Jarace Walker from Houston they got the player they wanted all along -- a player with a high-defensive ceiling, power forward size, and remarkable feel for the game for a frontcourt player.

Though his playing time has been limited and he hasn't been in the playoff rotation, the Pacers still see Walker as a long-term part of their future. The player they took later in the draft may not have the same ceiling, but he's been able to fit right in.

Ben Sheppard, taken No. 26 overall with the second pick the Pacers got from the Cavaliers in the LeVert trade, was well regarded coming out of Belmont as a two-way wing but he added significantly to his draft stock because of his performance in scrimmages at the NBA Draft Combine, then in his group workout with the Pacers in which he chased down loose balls all over the floor. Playing time came to him slowly, but Mathurin's injury and the trade of Buddy Hield opened up minutes at the wing and his combination of sturdy defense and timely shooting made him a staple of the second unit. In the playoffs, Sheppard has made 15 of 33 3-pointers (45.5%).

June 30, 2023: The Bruce Brown signing

Heading into free agency, the Pacers had a lot of salary cap room to play with and seemed motivated to go after an established power forward such as Harrison Barnes or Jerami Grant with a clear hole at that position. However, most players at that position ended up taking big pay days to stay where they were. The Pacers went another direction, signing Bruce Brown away from the NBA champion Nuggets for $45 million over two years.

Brown gave the Pacers someone who could play multiple positions, defend top players, run as fast as they wanted to run and bring championship experience to a young team that didn't have any. The contract was seen as an obvious overpay, but the Pacers had to give money to somebody or they would lose it anyway because they'd have been under the salary cap floor. Brown ended up being helpful not only on the floor, but in securing a bigger deal down the road.

Prior to the Brown deal, the Pacers traded away Duarte to the Kings for two second-round draft picks, parting with a former lottery pick but opening up a roster spot and space in the backcourt for Brown and others.

July 1, 2023: The Obi Toppin trade

Instead of signing a power forward in free agency, the Pacers got one cheaper by way of trade. They had interest in acquiring Obi Toppin from the Knicks at the trade deadline but it didn't quite work out at the time.

The Knicks seemed more ready to part with him, however, after he'd clashed with coach Tom Thibodeau over playing time in their Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the Heat. It only cost the Pacers their second-round picks in 2028 and 2029 and it gave them one of the best rim-running, lob-finishing power forwards in the NBA.

Dec. 15, 2023: The return of James Johnson Jr.

The additions of Brown and Toppin in the offseason didn't allow space for the Pacers to keep Johnson despite how much they loved his veteran presence and the value of having a player on the bench who -- according to The Athletic's annual anonymous player survey -- no one in the league wants to fight.

However, when Theis was waived on Nov. 15, that created a roster opening that gave the Pacers a chance to bring the 37-year-old back. Carlisle and other Pacers officials met with Johnson in Miami between games in their two-game series against the Heat to begin discussions of his return. His signing came days after the Pacers had a dust-up with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks over who had the game ball following Milwaukee's win and Antetokounmpo's 64-point effort, but the Pacers said that was simply coincidental.

Jan. 17, 2024: The Pascal Siakam trade

Kevin Pritchard had been saying since the 2023 trade deadline that he was "itching" to make a big trade but didn't quite feel comfortable with his options yet. However, with the Raptors heading into a rebuild, he saw an opportunity to add a second All-Star who could take attention from Haliburton, who at the time was on the shelf with a hamstring strain.

The Pacers were first mentioned in talks about acquiring Pascal Siakam as far back as July of 2023 and negotiations intensified in January until they finally made the deal to get the two-time All-NBA power forward with a 2018-19 championship ring on his finger. It cost the Pacers Brown, Nwora, two first-round picks in 2024 and another in 2026. However, it established that the Pacers clearly intended to reach the playoffs and win once they got there.

Siakam played 41 games for the Pacers in the regular season, averaging a team-high 21.3 points per game. In the playoffs he scored 73 points in the first two games, carrying them to a Game 2 win over Milwaukee in the first round. His 20.7 points and 7.9 rebounds in the playoffs lead the team.

Feb. 8, 2024: The Buddy Hield trade

Hield had been considered a potential trade chip since he was acquired with Haliburton, though in between he set a franchise record for 3-pointers in a season in 2023-24. He reportedly requested a trade to the 76ers at the deadline with Philadelphia needing offensive production in the wake of Joel Embiid's knee injury. The Pacers made it happen in what became a three-way deal with the Spurs and brought back Doug McDermott to replace some of his outside shooting. McDermott dealt with injuries and struggled to get on the floor in the playoffs, but he has hit two playoff 3-pointers and could be called on for more.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How the Pacers were built: The deals that built a playoff team