The Indiana Pacers are a team on the rise. Regardless of how they finish this year, this is a team that will look to add free agency, not eliminate contracts. They’re already going to re-sign Pascal Siakam this summer, so they’ll have a co-star to pair with Tyrese Haliburton.
After getting him in, the goal will be to build a team around these guys to take this team to the next level. Bennedict Mathurin will return from injury and it should be better. Jarace Walker could get more playing time, Ben Sheppard will also be valuable off the bench.
Still, the Pacers need help at the power forward position, especially off the bench. They’ll probably let Doug McDermott walk, so they’ll need a backup small forward. If Walker still isn’t quite ready to step into that role, Indiana should go after an Indiana native and bring him home.
Gordon Hayward would be the ideal guy for the Pacers to sign in free agency. He won’t command anything close to the $30 million contract he currently has. His production has declined because he can’t stay healthy. But he’s still good enough to come off the bench and do things for 18 minutes a game.
Hayward hasn’t played more than 50 games since the 2018-19 season. This is part of the reason why it will be relatively cheap. Before being traded to Oklahoma City, he was scoring 14.5 points per game and shooting 36% from three for the Hornets.
When relatively healthy, Hayward is a good defender who can rotate between four positions. He will be 34 next year and in the twilight of his career. He could come home and mentor a young team while playing meaningful minutes for a playoff team.
The Pacers should be able to offer him a one-year or two-year $7 million contract for $12 million. Something like this should still keep them under the luxury tax and give them a valuable veteran. Fans would love for the Brownsville native to return as well.
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I’m sure this is something the Pacers will look at this summer.
