One of the few remaining items on the Indiana Pacers’ 2024 offseason checklist is their rookie-scale team options, but it’s an easy item for the team to handle.
Apart from considering an extension for center Isaiah JacksonThe Pacers don’t have much to consider in terms of roster decisions this summer. For players signed to entry-level contracts, their contracts have two team options: they cover the third and fourth seasons of the contract. But they must be decided a full season in advance. For example, when a player signed to an entry-level contract enters his second season, his third-year team option must be decided.
The deadline to make those decisions is Oct. 31. Entry-level contracts are awarded, by default, to players drafted in the first round of the NBA draft.
Indiana has three players who will have a rookie-level team option in the next two months. Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker, who were drafted in 2023, as well as Bennedict Mathurin, who was drafted in 2022, have team options on their contracts available to them.
Walker and Sheppard’s deal includes a third-year team option, while Mathurin’s deal includes a fourth-year option. There are some details involved, but the three choices are obvious.
Sheppard was part of the Pacers’ playoff rotation as a rookie and started a handful of games. His team option, which covers the 2025-26 season, is worth just under $2.8 million. Walker’s is $6.6 million — he was selected in the NBA draft lottery.
Mathurin is a fourth-year option, and he’s a high-end young player. His option is just over $9.1 million, and he’s a talented scorer and finisher for a 22-year-old. His growth is a huge storyline for Indiana this season.
Sheppard and Mathurin are young rotation players, making their team choices obvious. Walker hasn’t played much yet, but his potential at a big position is high, and Indiana has no reason to decline his option. There’s no debate about these decisions.
The Blue and Gold already have an expensive and deep roster for the 2025-26 campaign. It is imperative to retain cheap young talent. The Pacers will almost certainly select these three team options and continue to develop the youth.
