Pacers exercise contract options on Haliburton, Nesmith, Duarte and Jackson
Teams have until the end of the month to decide on contracts for players still on their rookie deals.
Four players had their contract guaranteed for another season.
On Wednesday, the Pacers exercised their option on the rookie scale contracts for Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson.
This guarantees their contracts for next season, 2023-24. That will be Year 4 for Haliburton and Nesmith, and Year 3 for Duarte and Jackson. Players then become restricted free agents after their fourth season.
Of course this was going to happen, it was just a matter of the Pacers formally completing the process.
The Pacers think highly of all four players. Haliburton and Nesmith were acquired in separate trades whereas Duarte and Jackson were their first-round picks in 2021. Haliburton is the face of the team and all four are firmly in the rotation.
“No-brainer pretty much straight across the board,” head coach Rick Carlisle said before the Pacers played the Knicks Wednesday night. “We’re excited about what those guys can do and mean to our future.”
Last October, they had this decision to make on Goga Bitadze, who is now in Year 4 and will be a free agent next summer.
Teams have until Oct. 31 to decide on rookie scale options.
The deadline for teams to trim their roster for opening night is 5 p.m. ET on Saturday (Oct. 15). For the Pacers, they will need to decide on veterans James Johnson and Langston Galloway, along with Deividas Sirvydis.
Opening night is one week away: Oct. 19 against the Washington Wizards. (Click here for their full schedule.)
The Pacers have nearly $30 million in cap space available this season, and they now have 10 players with fully guaranteed contracts for the 2023-24 season.