Pacers to hang banner, roll out new season after completing offseason business; plus, Kam Jones addresses incident
Indiana opens its season Thursday against OKC after extending Aaron Nesmith, completing rookie options, and navigating early injuries — plus rookie Kam Jones issues an apology following his arrest.
There are several signs a new NBA season is here. For the Pacers, it unofficially is marked by the annual golf outing at Brickyard Crossing to benefit the Pacers Foundation in mid-September.
The final checkpoint before the season opener is finalizing rookie-scale options. So on Tuesday, after finalizing a two-year extension for forward Aaron Nesmith just two hours before the deadline, the Pacers did the expected with a pair of third-year players.
The Pacers exercised the fourth-year team options for Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, both of whom were 2023 first-round picks, for the 2026-27 season. This guarantees the contracts for the final year of their rookie deals, which are team friendly.
Almost all rookies have their fourth years exercised. Ex-Pacer Jalen Smith was a rare player not to get a fourth year from the Suns, who drafted him in 2020. That created a unique situation in Indy, where he ultimately re-signed the first time.
Both Walker and Sheppard are coming off injuries. Walker suffered a nasty ankle sprain in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks, then was unable to return in the NBA Finals.
As for Sheppard, he sustained a calf strain last month at the player’s only mini-camp held at Pascal Siakam’s home in Orlando. That caused him to miss training camp and most of the preseason, only playing 12 minutes in their exhibition finale in San Antonio.
Nesmith signed the extension, his second with the franchise, and then discussed his motivation to put it behind him.
“I really just wanted to get something done and let these guys know that I’m here for the long haul,” he said after Tuesday’s practice. “I wanted to be here. I’m happy to be here. And I’m just glad that I get to just continue to build this thing for the next four years.
“… It was just really stamping that I wanna bring a championship back to this city and continue to build this thing up. That was all this deal was about.”
Nesmith was acquired by the Pacers in 2022, part of a trade that sent Malcolm Brogdon to Boston. It was a fruitful move one year after head coach Rick Carlisle returned to coach the Pacers. Nesmith is a hard-working, determined player who is low maintenance and all about team.
“He’s a proven starter on a championship-caliber team,” Carlisle said. “And so the opportunity to keep him in the fold for an additional two years is a great event for the franchise. Happy for him, happy for the organization.”
Nesmith is one of their top defenders and is one of three returning starters from last year, along with Siakam and Andrew Nembhard.
Meanwhile, Myles Turner did not received a sufficient offer in free agency so he departed for the Milwaukee Bucks, leaving a big hole at center for the first time in a decade.
The Pacers open the season on Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder — who received their 2025 championship rings and raised a banner Tuesday before their double-overtime win over the Houston Rockets. The game airs nationally on ESPN.
As the two meet for the first time since Game 7 on June 22nd, the Pacers will first celebrate last season with a banner at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for being 2025 Eastern Conference Champions.
Then the ball will be thrown up, officially turning the page on a new season.
Injury Update For Opener
Tyrese Haliburton has already been ruled out for the season as he continues to rehab a torn Achilles suffered in Game 7, which remains a great what-if in Pacers/NBA history.
To make matters worse, they have several other point guards injured to begin the season. Backup point guard T.J. McConnell (left hamstring strain) is out at least one month, rookie Kam Jones is managing an offseason lower back stress reaction, and two-way guard Quenton Jackson has a right hamstring strain, but he is getting closer. So it seems.
Carlisle said Jackson was able to do some work at practice, but then he dropped his “hopefully it’s days, not weeks” response.
Jarace Walker and Johnny Furphy each were dealing with preseason injuries, but neither are listed on the injury report.
“They’re doing better,” Carlisle said. “I expect them to be available.”
As for the Thunder, guard Alex Caruso sustained a concussion in their season-opening win over the Rockets so he’s entered the concussion protocol.
Starters Lu Dort and Cason Wallace are both questionable, and Isaiah Joe, Jalen Williams, and Kenrich Williams have already been ruled out.
Also of note: veteran James Johnson, a member of the team the past three seasons, visited practice and plans to be at opening night on Thursday.
Kam Jones Issues Apology
It’s been a difficult start to the week for rookie Kam Jones.
He was pulled over during a traffic stop Monday morning, then booked at the local detention center on two charges. By Tuesday, he was out and back at practice.
Afterward, Carlisle shared a few words on what happened before turning it over to Jones, who addressed the team and then wanted to publicly apologize to the organization and fans via local reporters.
“My feeling is that this is gonna turn out to be a speeding ticket and probably not much more,” Carlisle said. “The kid thought he was gonna be late to practice so he’s going too fast. I’m not gonna get into much more about it than that. But, he insisted on apologizing to the team today.”
“I’m obviously deeply sorry to the Pacers organization, the fans,” said Jones. “This is a very traumatic experience for me. I’ve never been through anything like this, but definitely a mistake that I’ve learned from. … It won’t happen again. Deeply sorry to the organization and looking forward to letting this go past and get back to work.”
Jones, the 38th pick in June’s NBA Draft, will be out for at least a month due to injury.
Pacers Launch New Season Teaser Video
The team went live with a new ad campaign on Tuesday, opening night for the NBA.
“It’s time to write the next chapter.”
It was produced by Story League out of Chicago, the same group that produced a video for the Fever’s “Stranger Things” uniforms. It was directed by Juwann Nelson.
The ‘Yes ‘Cers’ slogan is back for another season as well.
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