The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement, implemented before the 2023-24 season, has forced many top teams to reconsider handing out massive extensions just to keep the band together. The consequences for passing the first, let alone the much more extreme second apron, are massive. Despite this, there’s one team that may do the unthinkable, at least for them, by diving back into a much more punishing luxury tax.
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The Indiana Pacers, who could be on their way to the NBA Finals after tonight, haven’t spent a penny over the tax line since 2005. As a middle-market team, Indiana has sometimes been forced to overpay free agents. But, the franchise has managed to stay away from paying luxury tax through savvy trades and quality draft selections like Paul George and Myles Turner.
The Pacers have only spent a combined $8.9 million on luxury tax penalties over three years since it was implemented in 2001. Considering where Indiana was sitting in March, Brian Windhorst didn’t see the Pacers straying from the norm this offseason. The franchise has several key pieces up for an extension – including their longtime center – but the longtime analyst didn’t see Indiana overspending to retain him.
“Team sources told me the Pacers absolutely want to keep Turner, who is closing in on his 700th game for the franchise. But Indiana has to manage a cash crunch,” Windhorst wrote a month before the playoffs. “They are currently projected to be about $22 million below next season’s luxury tax without Turner, and he’ll probably be looking for a significant raise on his current $19.9 million salary.”
Despite Indiana’s obvious desire to hold on to Turner, Windhorst didn’t believe the Pacers would view him as invaluable, considering their status as a middling playoff team. “The Pacers haven’t paid the luxury tax since 2005, and there are no plans to go into it next season, sources said. Keeping Turner is going to require some negotiating and some maneuvering,” Windy continued.
The 47-year-old recently changed his tune, though, as the Pacers now unexpectedly sit on the verge of their first NBA Finals berth since 2000. “Indiana might be on the verge of entering a new era, team sources say — one not seen in two decades — one that aims to keep up with the Celtics, Cavs, Knicks and everyone else,” Windhorst reported.
With ownership continuing to age – Herb Simon is 91 – and the Pacers suddenly proving themselves as a contender, Indiana’s front office is more inclined to spend than ever. “And with the Pacers making another deep playoff run, ownership has indicated a willingness to increase spending next season and potentially reenter the luxury tax to keep this core together, sources said,” Windy claimed.
After years of being one of the more frugal franchises in the association, back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals appearances may be enough to convince Pacers brass that this is a core worth building around.
Most of the team’s core is locked down for the foreseeable future, including Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, who are owed over $90 million combined next season. Bennedict Mathurin is also extension-eligible as a restricted free agent, but his inconsistencies will buy the Pacers some time. The biggest question they’ll have to answer regards Turner’s future with the team.
As he Pacers’ longest tenured player, Turner is a cornerstone of their system. He is an electric rim protector and one of the league’s best stretch bigs. He’ll be headed for a big raise after making $19.9 million this season, but after facing years of trade rumors, it seems the Pacers have finally realized how valuable Turner is to winning.
