The Pacers smartly kept Bennedict Mathurin and Isaiah Jackson for 2025

The Indiana Pacers made an expected move earlier this month when they exercised the team options in the rookie-scale contracts of Isaiah Jackson and Bennedict Mathurin.

For Jackson, it was his fourth-year team option that was exercised. For Mathuruin, it was his third year. Both players are now under contract for the 2024-25 season — Jackson’s cap hit will be just over $4.4 million that season while Mathurin’s will be a hair larger than $7.2 million.

The Pacers had until the end of October to make the decision on these team options, but they got things done after just two preseason games. There was no point in waiting. The decisions were relatively easy, especially given the direction of the franchise.

“It’s really a no-brainer,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the choices. “They’re both terrific young prospects that are hard workers and have made significant progress. Happy that that’s done.”

In Mathurin’s case, there isn’t an argument against keeping him around. He was a First-Team All-Rookie player last season after averaging 16.7 points per game, and his ability to get to the free throw line is already advanced. He should grow into a nice offensive player, at minimum, and he showed off improved passing in Indiana’s season opener earlier this week. He also scored 18 points — Mathurin could be in for a big season as a starter. He is a bargain on his current contract, and the Pacers will pick up his fourth-year rookie-scale option next offseason.

Jackson’s deal, however, at least required a little bit of thought. The blue and gold have several other centers under contract in Myles Turner, Jalen Smith, and Daniel Theis, so it isn’t clear what Jackson’s role is long term.

Right now, he appears to be the third-string center behind Turner and Smith. But Smith has a player option for the 2024-25 season, and Theis has a team option. It’s possible that both become free agents next summer while Jackson is under contract.

Jackson’s production has come and gone during his career. His athleticism makes him a tough cover every night, and he adds a rare element of vertical spacing. At his best, he can guard several positions on defense. That type of player is worth trying to develop.

On the flip side, he fouls often, and his skills away from the basket on offense have not appeared to improve much since he joined the league in 2021. It isn’t clear just yet if he can be an everyday rotation player in the NBA.

But in the Pacers position, even without knowing Jackson’s long-term role, he is still worth retaining. His athleticism is unteachable. Trying to grow his game out from there is what a young team thinking long term should do.

That’s where the Pacers are. They want to win more this season, but they also have the future in mind — over half of the team’s opening-night rotation had fewer than four years of NBA experience. Indiana could be good this year, but they are still growing.

Jackson’s cap hit isn’t high next season, and the Pacers project to have a decent amount of cap space in 2024. Removing Jackson’s money from the books hardly changes what Indiana can do next summer — at least not given their current cap outlook — so there is little opportunity cost to keeping him around. Plus, if his option had been declined, his salary for the 2024-25 season still would have been limited by the rookie scale for the blue and gold, but not other teams. The Pacers faced this issue with Jalen Smith in the 2022 offseason.

Had Indiana declined the option, and then Jackson had a decent season, keeping him beyond the current year would have been almost impossible. At the same time, his trade value would have been nonexistent since his new team would inherit the restrictions in re-signing him. Those risks, combined with the low opportunity cost of exercising Jackson’s option and the safety of restricted free agency in 2025, made keeping the young big the right choice for the Pacers.

In the short term, Mathurin can help Indiana and will get better long term. He’s a very promising young guard worth investing in. In Jackson’s case, he’s a valuable depth big who is still just 21-years old and could be better in the future. Keeping those two players around is the right choice for a team trying to blend the present and the future. The Pacers made the correct choices.