Indiana Pacers Exercise Rookie Scale Team Options For Group Of Young Players

The Indiana Pacers announced on Wednesday that they have exercised rookie scale team options in the contracts of Chris Duarte, Isaiah Jackson, Tyrese Haliburton, and Aaron Nesmith.

For Nesmith and Haliburton, who were drafted in 2020, it was a fourth-year rookie scale team option that was exercised. In the case of Duarte and Jackson, 2021 draftees, their third-year options were picked up. For all four players, this move means the same thing — they are now under contract with the Pacers through the 2023-24 season, at least.

“We extended the contracts of those four guys, which we feel is a no-brainer pretty much straight across the board,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the transactions. “We’re excited about what those guys can do and mean to our future.”

Rookie scale team options are picked up a full season in advance. So while Duarte, for example, is about to enter his second season, the option that was picked up in his contract covers his third season. The same goes for Jackson, while Nesmith and Haliburton now have the fourth season of their rookie deals picked up.

As Carlisle alluded to, these moves were all no brainers for the Pacers. Rookie scale contracts are typically cheap and only take up a small percentage of the salary cap. All four of these young players are talented and project to be a part of Indiana’s core as the franchise enters a new era, so keeping them under contract at inexpensive numbers is an easy choice.

The Pacers had until October 31st to officially make these moves, but because these decisions were essentially procedural, the franchise opted to get it done before the season even started. Even if one of these players had suffered a devastating injury before the Halloween deadline, the Pacers still would likely have kept them around for the next two campaigns, so there was no harm in making these moves early.

The only true “cost” of these decisions comes in the form of opportunity cost, because the Pacers now will have less cap space in the summer of 2023. But the team will still have more than enough cap space to do anything they would reasonably want to in free agency, so while there is an opportunity cost to these moves, it is incredibly low. Plus, it’s hard to fathom the blue and gold finding a better use for their money than four talented young players.

Jackson is the only player of the four who wasn’t a lottery pick in the NBA draft. He will make just under $2.7 million in 2023-24 while his fellow 2021 draftee Duarte will make roughly $4.1 million. The Pacers consider both to be important pieces going forward.

“Getting an entire year under your belt in the NBA, you learn a lot. You learn a lot about the day-to-day habits you have to cultivate to keep your head clear, to keep your body strong, and to keep playing at a high level,” Carlisle recently said of Duarte. “Right now, he’s been working with our first group, which is something that he’s earned.”

Through three preseason contests, Duarte is averaging 12.0 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game while Jackson, playing backup center, is averaging 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Both players have team options on the fourth season of their rookie scale contracts that the Pacers will have to make a decision on by October 31, 2023. If they keep growing at the same rate they have been since being drafted, those decisions will once again be no brainers.

The fourth year of rookie scale contracts is 25%+ pricier than any other season of the deal. As a result, Haliburton will make $5.8 million in 2023-24 and Nesmith will make $5.6 million. Both players were lottery picks in the 2020 draft.

Haliburton is currently Indiana’s best player and off-court leader. He is one of the brightest young talents in the NBA, and he is slated to have a bigger role this coming season after the Pacers traded away Malcolm Brogdon. He is a bargain on his current deal.

Nesmith is a newer Pacer who was acquired in the Brogdon trade. He dropped 16 points in his preseason debut for the blue and gold, but injured his foot in his next outing. He is a needed depth piece on the wing for Indiana, and picking up his option is a bet on his potential.

“Aaron plays always [at] 150%. Whenever he’s out there, he gives everything,” Pacers center Daniel Theis said of Nesmith. “He plays hard. He’s athletic, he’s a great shooter. I think he can bring a lot to this group.”

Both Nesmith and Haliburton will be eligible for rookie extensions next summer. If either of them come to an agreement on a longer term deal with the blue and gold at that time, it would kick in during the 2024-25 season. If no extension is reached with either player, they will enter restricted free agency in the 2024 offseason.

Indiana now has 10 players signed to guaranteed contracts for the 2023-24 season, and that is before any draft picks are made by the team. The Pacers could be a busy team in the next 12 months in terms of reshaping their roster as they look to push their rebuild forward into the next stage. The team can now make long-term decisions knowing that these four young, talented players are under contract.