The Indiana Pacers had a surprising and solid season.
Not many people expected them to reach the NBA’s In-Season Tournament final, let alone the Eastern Conference Finals.
Granted, they may have benefitted from the string of injuries that hurt the conference, but still, they proved that they were much better than expected.
Some of that had to do with their depth, and they could now be missing one of the key contributors to their second unit.
According to a report by Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Jalen Smith will decline his option to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer (via Evan Sidery).
There’s an early indication that Jalen Smith will decline his $5.4 million player option with the Pacers to enter unrestricted free agency, per @MikeAScotto (https://t.co/c7wZcnqt1v).
Smith was one of the NBA’s most efficient backup bigs this season averaging 9.9 points and 5.5… pic.twitter.com/KLKyEXaIAV
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 15, 2024
Smith averaged 9.9 points and 5.5 rebounds on a 68.2% true shooting percentage, and he could gauge plenty of interest around the league.
He hasn’t particularly lived up to the expectations that come with being the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft, but he’s a serviceable backup who has had some big scoring outbursts and who could alter some shots on defense as well.
Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to leave the team, but he’ll now have an opportunity to dip his toes in the free agency pool and gauge his actual market value to make the most of it.
The Pacers’ No. 1 priority will be to re-sign Pascal Siakam, who reportedly wants to stay as well.
They could also sign Andrew Nembhard to a multi-year contract extension.
Then, they could focus on trying to convince Smith to stay, assuming Rick Carlisle and company still want him around.
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