Indiana Pacers Salary Cap Situation More Clear After Deals Guarantee And Myles Turner Reportedly Extends

This has been a busy January for the Indiana Pacers. They’ve had several decisions to make, including two contracts that were set to become fully guaranteed, one contract extension to consider, and much more.

Early in the month, Indiana brass had to weigh the pros and cons of keeping Oshae Brissett and James Johnson on fully guaranteed contracts. They were both playing on non-guaranteed deals, meaning had they been waived by January 7, the Pacers could have freed up some money against the salary cap. They would have lost Johnson and Brissett had they done that, though.

Brissett has been a rotation player for the blue and gold for most of the season. His natural abilities are not common for any other member of the Pacers roster, and he is on a minimum-salary contract. He is well worth his deal and a nice piece for the blue and gold. Brissett is averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this season.

Johnson, meanwhile, rarely plays for the team. He provides most, if not all, of his value as an off-court piece for the group. He’s had the longest career of any Pacer, and his tenacity and attitude have been essential for Indiana.

Many players have noted how important Johnson has been for them this season as a teammate. He and Brissett both have value to the Pacers, and the team kept both players through January 7. Their contracts became fully guaranteed for this season.

“For me, I came here with a serve mentality. I’m here to serve, and that’s whatever is needed,” Johnson said of his role on the Pacers earlier this month.

Brissett carries a cap hit of roughly $1.85 million this season while Johnson’s is $1.84 million. Both players are on minimum contracts that will expire at the end of this season. Keeping them became a no-brainer for the blue and gold given how their season started.

With those decisions settled, the Pacers had one more contractual hurdle to figure out before the trade deadline — what do they do with Myles Turner?

Turner was on an expiring contract, and the Pacers had to figure out what to do with the big man. They could have looked to trade him in the middle of a surprising start in order to get something in return before free agency. They could have let Turner play out his deal and tried their best to keep him in free agency. Or they could try to negotiate a renegotiation-and-extension deal that keeps Turner in Indiana but removes some flexibility elsewhere.

The Pacers chose the final path. Over the weekend, they agreed to terms on a two-year extension with Turner in which he would get $58 million in new money — $17.1 million added on to his salary in 2022-23, and $41 million spread over the following two seasons, according to reports.

It’s a win-win deal. The Pacers get to keep Turner for additional seasons in exchange for their cap space this year. In 2023-24 and 2024-25, the big man will be on a bargain of a contract. Turner, meanwhile, gets enough money to forgo free agency and remain with a franchise that he fits well with. He has been with Indiana for all eight of his NBA seasons.

“It’s just great news that there’s an agreement for Myles Turner. He’s been amazing for two years, and I can’t talk in detail about it, but it’s just great news for the franchise, the city, for him and the organization,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said on Sunday.

Turner’s renegotiated base salary this season is $34.6 million, and he has $2.5 million of attainable bonuses in his deal, according to various reports. If he achieves all of his bonuses, his salary will be its maximum this year. His dollar figure then drops by about 40% to roughly $21 million in 2023-24.

Between Johnson and Brissett seeing their contracts become guaranteed and Turner getting a pay bump, the Pacers got some salary cap clarity in January. They are now roughly $8.8 million below the salary cap and can create a little bit more cap room if they get rid of all their cap holds. That space could be valuable with the trade deadline coming up — Indiana will be able to make trades with imbalanced salaries being swapped or sign a player who is waived in conjunction with a trade.

The Pacers have roughly $113 million in committed salary this season as of right now. After giving Turner a renegotiated deal, they are over the salary floor, meaning they don’t need to make any more moves this season if they don’t find a deal that they like.

The trade deadline is in 12 days, so having salary cap clarity and flexibility will allow the Pacers to execute their vision in any trades that they make. For now, though, after a few savvy moves, the team has a more clear vision.