On the night that he was traded from Sacramento to Indiana in February 2022, Tyrese Haliburton went out for dinner with his new head coach Rick Carlisle, who outlined the Pacers‘ plan to have him run their offense, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. Since then, Indiana has made an increased effort to complement Haliburton with players who will fit into his up-tempo playing style, notes Joe Vardon of The Athletic.
“As we’ve put this group together around Tyrese, we’ve had to make adjustments to develop a style that was effective for us,” Carlisle said. “It’s a difficult style, you know, it’s demanding, physically demanding, takes a tremendous amount of wherewithal as an athlete and then you got to be super unselfish.”
Nearly two years after acquiring Haliburton, the Pacers traded for Pascal Siakam, a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA forward who has a championship on his résumé. But Haliburton is still Indiana’s leader and the player the team trusts to take big shots with the game on the line, as he has done multiple times throughout this postseason.
“My group wants me to take those shots,” Haliburton said, per Collier. “My coaching staff wants me to take those shots. Our organization wants me to take those shots. I think now we’re at the point where our fans want me to take that shot. Everybody’s living and dying with it at that point. That gives me a lot of confidence.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- Shakeia Taylor and Jay King of The Athletic spoke to Aaron Nesmith‘s high school coach, John “JP” Pearson, about one of the heroes of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, whose 8-of-9 performance from beyond the arc helped the Pacers steal a win in New York. “I’m over there telling him, ‘I’m not quite sure what I just saw, Aaron,'” Pearson said of a phone call he had with Nesmith late on Wednesday night. “And Aaron was like, ‘Yeah, we won the game.’ And I told him, ‘No, Aaron, I was living when Reggie Miller did all that and it’s being compared right now.’ And he goes, ‘I don’t think I was born.'”
- While there has been no indication at this point that Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo plans to request a trade, multiple agents who spoke to Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report at the draft combine think it will happen. With that in mind, Pincus explores the top five most logical landing spots for Antetokounmpo in the event of a deal, identifying San Antonio, Houston, Brooklyn, Atlanta, and Oklahoma City as the best fits.
- Marcus Sasser saw his minutes cut back in his second NBA season, but that was more about the Pistons‘ increased depth than any sort of decline in the second-year guard’s production, writes Keith Langlois of Pistons.com. Detroit will have to make a decision by October 31 on whether to exercise Sasser’s $5.2MM team option for 2026/27. Assuming that option is picked up, he’d become extension-eligible during the 2026 offseason.
I don’t see why OKC would want to blow up what they have for Giannis. He’s good but he’s not worth what they’d have to get rid of to obtain him. They are relatively young and in the WCF without him already.
Only way i see that happening is if they fail to win a championship this year because of a need for Giannis. So far through the playoffs their 2 big men set up has done great.
@Tyfepsts
I agree. That team is looking like a dynasty, no way Presti messes with success.
They not only look like a dynasty, they have a ton of first round picks so they can keep bringing in players without overspending.
No way they blow that up for Giannis,
Not a lot of rumors here so I will start one- Tyrese Haliburton is a pretty dang good player and it’s about time he gets some credit.
PacersFan
May 23, 2025
The dumbest take on Haliburton. You don’t watch Pacers games. Stick to the bing bong Knicks Al. Your ignorance is showing.
Still waiting for you to elighten me PacersFan ….
Tell me all about Haliburton …. Please
Haliburton this yrs playoffs has avg
18.7 pts, 9.5 ast, 5.4 reb,
Brunson Captain Clutch, East all star starter …
He has averaged 28.8 points per game, 7.7 assists, and 3.9 rebounds in 12 playoff games. He led all playoff point scorers with 389 points.
PacersFan ———- please tell me all about Haliburton. You can tell me about his 31 he put up on Knicks. Trying to pace the Caps 43 pts. Nice win though ……. So don’t hide now. Ignorance starts with not showing up …,,,
@KnickAl
Haliburton is 1-0 vs Brunson in the series. There’s more to winning than scoring points.
Nobody has won anything. You want in on the conversation know what you are talking about.
He owns the scoring. Like he owns the Pacers. Make sure you watch tonight …. See if you can find PacersFan ….. or we’ll put out an APB in him.
I think with those top picks and young talent they have. Spurs and Rockets have a real chance to trade for Giannis.
As far as KD goes. I know AE really wants him imo.
Heat and OKC are a good place for him too. At his age and contract. He can’t demand as much as Giannis. So he comes cheaper. And OKC is a good way to end his career.
@KnicvkAl
Why don’t you ever answer my questions?
I’ll keep asking, who is “AE”?
I’ll bet KD would go back to OKC, but I don’t see any chance of Presti taking on that contract.
Anthony Edwards
Minny is not sold on Randle. They tried to get in on trade at TD. Couldn’t be worked out. What I read out there. Is AE idolized KD growing up. Randle has an expiring contract. Seems like there could be truth there. Even with a third team.