Haliburton Unsure Why Achilles Tears Have Seemingly Increased
Tyrese Haliburton doesn’t have a theory about why he and other NBA players have suffered Achilles tendon tears. The Pacers star guard made his first public comments since suffering that injury in Game 7 of the Finals, which is expected to sideline him all of next season, during ESPN’s ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Tuesday.
“I think that there’s like a notion when guys get injured or when this has happened so many times that everybody thinks that they have the answer to why this is happening,” Haliburton said, per an ESPN story. “Everybody thinks we play too many games, we play too many minutes — all those things could be true, but I don’t think that is what’s causing these injuries.”
Haliburton was among three star players in the postseason and seven NBA players overall to go down with serious Achilles injuries during the 2024/25 season. Nuggets rookie DaRon Holmes also sustained an Achilles tear during Summer League last July.
“I don’t think that anybody has necessarily the answer,” Haliburton said. “I think injuries are just bad luck sometimes and that’s just what happened. I think that’s just what happens in sports sometimes.”
As it’s often described, Haliburton felt the sensation of someone kicking him in the back of the leg when the injury occurred and realized immediately what the diagnosis would be. Haliburton had been battling through a calf injury and was devastated that he couldn’t help his team win a championship in the decisive contest against the Thunder.
“I think I was just hurt that I wasn’t going to be out there,” Haliburton said, as relayed by Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “I think it was all those emotions coming at once, but I wasn’t thinking about next year or what’s led up to this. All I was thinking about was being in the moment of Game 7 and that happening definitely sucked.”
Haliburton underwent an MRI after Game 5, when the calf injury was constantly on his mind and he scored only four points. He was told by doctors if it were the regular season he would have had to sit out a few weeks. But since it was the Finals, he was determined to play. He was able to pass a calf stress test prior to Game 6.
“After Game 6, I’m like ‘it’s done, it’s gone, adrenaline is going to get to me, I’m going to be good,'” Haliburton said. “I go to Game 7, I feel nothing. I feel great going into the game. I think that’s why I had a great start to the game. My body felt great. Then obviously, that happens in the end.”
Haliburton is still in the early stages of his rehab. He’s using a scooter and keeping the leg mostly elevated, so he’s mainly been working on his upper body strength. He looks at next season as a time to heal while remaining a team leader and becoming a de facto assistant coach.
“I haven’t even thought about what the season will call for,” Haliburton said. “I probably won’t be traveling as much early in the year depending on what stage of rehab I’m in. But I still want to be around the guys as much as possible. I think I want to take this time to keep growing my mind for the game. Being around coach (Rick) Carlisle. Sit in on coaches meetings. (President of basketball operations) (Kevin) Pritchard, talking to those guys and helping. I feel like I have a pretty decent basketball mind myself. So I’m just trying to help the guys as best as I can. I’m going to be on the bench as soon as I can walk.”
You can access the video of the interview here.
Pacers Notes: Furphy, Dennis, Q. Jackson, Jones, More
Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard recently said Johnny Furphy has added 20 pounds of muscle to his frame and it showed in the confident way he attacked the rim at the Las Vegas Summer League, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required).
As Dopirak details, Furphy had one of the top highlights of Summer League, throwing down a vicious poster slam on Bulls lottery pick Noa Essengue (YouTube link), and shot 76.9% on twos (10-of-13), though he made just 25.0% of his three-point looks (3-of-12). Furphy posted solid-if-unspectacular numbers in three appearances in Vegas, averaging 11.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.0 SPG in 22.9 MPG, with turnovers being an issue (2.7 per contest).
Furphy, who was selected 35th overall in last year’s draft, had a modest role with Indiana as a rookie last season, making 50 regular season appearances while averaging 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 7.6 minutes per game. While he seems likely to be outside of the rotation to open 2025/26, the 20-year-old should get a crack at regular minutes if an injury occurs on the wing, Dopirak notes.
Here’s more on the Pacers from Dopirak:
- As he enters his second NBA season, RayJ Dennis appears to be the frontrunner for third-string point guard duties despite being on a two-way contract, according to Dopirak. With Tyrese Haliburton sidelined for ’25/26, Andrew Nembhard is expected to start, with T.J. McConnell as the primary backup. The 24-year-old Dennis tied for a Summer League-high with 7.3 assists per game (against 3.8 turnovers) in four contests and showed his familiarity with the team’s uptempo offense, Dopirak writes. Dennis also averaged 15.8 PPG on .420/.400/.846 shooting splits (27.7 MPG) and, at least as of now, looks to be ahead of Quenton Jackson and rookie Kam Jones on the depth chart; Jackson is also on a two-way deal, while Jones received a standard contract after being selected No. 38 overall out of Marquette.
- Speaking of Jackson, Dopirak says he was arguably the most impactful player on the Summer League roster in his one appearance, posting 24 points on just 10 field goal attempts and recording three assists and two steals in 26 minutes. Dennis is more of a facilitator, but head coach Rick Carlisle showed he had faith in Jackson last season amid injuries and the 26-year-old guard is a better and more versatile defender than Dennis, Dopirak observes.
- As for Jones, he showed flashes of why the Pacers made him a second-round pick at Summer League, averaging 13.5 PPG, 5.2 APG, 3.8 RPG and 1.8 SPG on .488/.333/.750 shooting in four games in Vegas (26.3 MPG). However, the 23-year-old might need to spend some time in the G League with the Noblesville Boom to open the season, according to Dopirak, who points out that Jones had some rough patches on both ends of the court despite solid-looking counting stats.
- The Pacers have a two-way qualifying offer out to Enrique Freeman, who shined in Vegas, averaging 16.6 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 2.0 APG and 1.8 BPG while shooting 72.5% from the floor in five games (27.8 MPG). But Dopirak views No. 54 overall pick Taelon Peter — one of several unsigned second-rounders — as a better bet to fill Indiana’s third and final two-way spot. The former Liberty guard thrived in transition in Summer League, Dopirak writes, and although his stats were far more modest than Freeman’s (9.5 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 1.8 APG in 23.6 MPG), the former Akron big man has distinct limitations, notably being forward-sized (6’7″ and 220 pounds) but functionally playing like a center.
- Assistant coach Isaac Yacob deserves credit for having the Summer League team emulating the Pacers’ distinctive style in a short period of time, per Dopirak. In addition to being the head coach in Vegas, Yacob has helped several players on the roster improve and is close to Haliburton, so his standing in the organization is on the rise, says Dopirak.
And-Ones: Summer League, Clifford, Barton, Apron Teams
The Kings and Raptors will square off in one of the semifinal matchups at the Las Vegas Summer League on Saturday, while the Thunder and Hornets will match up in the other semifinal, according to an announcement from the NBA (Twitter link).
Those clubs are four of the six who have gone undefeated in Vegas and earned spots in the final four due to their point differential edge over the 4-0 Timberwolves and Hawks. The winners of Saturday’s semifinals will play in the Summer League championship game on Sunday night before the event wraps up.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As impressive as No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg was during his brief stint with the Mavericks‘ Summer League team, Kings guard Nique Clifford beat Flagg out as the best rookie in Las Vegas, according to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. Pelton also names Trail Blazers big man Yang Hansen the “most intriguing” rookie in Summer League, Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears as the slowest-starting rookie, and Jazz big man Kyle Filipowski as the best second-year performer.
- Veteran guard Will Barton, who spent 11 seasons in the NBA from 2012-23, is joining the DMV Trilogy in the BIG3 and will make his debut for the 3×3 team this Sunday, according to a report from Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Barton hasn’t been on an NBA roster since finishing a rest-of-season contract with Toronto in 2023. The 34-year-old has played in Spain, Puerto Rico, and China since then.
- In an in-depth story for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks takes a look at which teams are members of the NBA’s “apron club” this season and which clubs are positioned to cross that threshold within the next year or two if they don’t end up shedding salary.
- The Pistons‘ acquisition of sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, the Heat‘s trade for swingman Norman Powell, and the Pacers‘ addition of big man Jay Huff are a few of the top “under-the-radar” moves that have been made so far this offseason, says Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Pacers Notes: Nembhard, Mathurin, Turner, Jackson, More
With Tyrese Haliburton sidelined for the entire 2025/26 season as he recovers from a torn Achilles, the Pacers‘ offense is expected to look significantly different in the fall and likely won’t be nearly as “high-octane,” according to Jamal Collier of ESPN.
Indiana ranked second in both offensive rating and pace during the 2023/24 regular season and was a top-10 team in both categories again in ’24/25, despite getting off to a slow start last fall. The Pacers also played at the fastest pace of any Eastern Conference team during the 2025 playoffs en route to their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000.
As Collier observes, Andrew Nembhard – who figures to take over as the team’s starting point guard in 2025/26 – doesn’t have the same burst as Haliburton, so the Pacers figure to lean more into his strengths, including his decision-making in half-court sets.
According to Collier, several executives around the league believe that fourth-year wing Bennedict Mathurin is in line for an increased offensive role with Haliburton on the shelf and Myles Turner no longer on the roster. Mathurin, a 2022 lottery pick, has averaged 15.9 points in 28.3 minutes per game during his first three years in the NBA. He’s eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason.
Here’s more on the Pacers:
- Confirming remarks made by president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said during an appearance on The Green Light with Chris Long podcast (YouTube link) that the club didn’t have the opportunity to match the contract offer Turner got from Milwaukee before he agreed to sign with the Bucks. “We were talking to them – ‘them’ meaning his agent – about him returning,” Carlisle said (hat tip to HoopsHype). “And really, kind of out of nowhere, Milwaukee decided to waive Damian Lillard and stretch his contract…and then they created space to sign Myles. I think what probably happened—and this is part of negotiation in any sport—a team will say: ‘Hey, look, we have this offer. It’s this much over this many years, but if we make this offer, we need to know that you’re going to take it and not shop it.’ And so, I believe that’s probably what happened with Milwaukee. It was a number. It was a certain number of years. And they just jumped at it, and there was never a chance to counter. So—those things happen. And when they do, you just have to keep going.”
- While Isaiah Jackson‘s new three-year, $21MM contract with the Pacers is guaranteed for now, it includes injury protections in years two and three in the event that the big man suffers another major Achilles injury that prevents him from reaching games-played benchmarks, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. Jackson missed nearly the entire 2024/25 season while recovering from an Achilles tear he sustained in early November.
- Pascal Siakam tops the list of the Pacers’ most important players for the 2025/26 season with Haliburton out and Turner gone, writes Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star (subscription required). Nembhard, Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, and Jay Huff round out Dopirak’s top five, in that order.
- In a separate story for The Indianapolis Star, Dopirak shares his takeaways from the Pacers’ fourth Las Vegas Summer League game on Thursday, including forward Enrique Freeman continuing to make a strong case for a two-way slot in Indiana. Freeman racked up 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and four assists, in Thursday’s win over New York.
Contract Details: Aldama, Jerome, Spencer, Booker, Jackson, Broome
The three-year, $52.5MM contract that restricted free agent Santi Aldama signed with the Grizzlies includes a third-year team option, tweets Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. The deal is front-loaded, with an $18.49MM salary in year one before it dips to $17MM in year two. The team option for 2027/28 is also worth $17MM.
Meanwhile, the three-year, $27.66MM deal that Ty Jerome finalized with the Grizzlies is worth the full room exception, as expected. Jerome’s contract – which includes a third-year player option, as previously reported – also features a 15% trade kicker, notes Scotto (Twitter link).
Finally, Cam Spencer‘s new four-year contract with Memphis is worth roughly $10.4MM in total. The team used cap room to give Spencer a salary of $2,537,989 in year one, with minimum salaries for the remaining three years of the deal, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. As previously reported, the first three seasons are fully guaranteed, with a fourth-year team option for 2028/29.
Here are a few more details on some of the recently signed contracts from around the NBA:
- Devin Booker‘s new two-year, maximum-salary extension with the Suns only features one fully guaranteed year. The second season is a player option for the 2029/30 season, tweets Scotto.
- Isaiah Jackson‘s three-year, $21MM contract with the Pacers is front-loaded, Hoops Rumors has learned. Jackson will earn $7.6MM in 2025/26, followed by salaries of $7MM in ’26/27 and $6.4MM in ’27/28.
- Johni Broome‘s four-year contract with the Sixers, previously said to be guaranteed for two seasons, is worth $8.69MM, Hoops Rumors has confirmed. That means Broome will be earning his minimum salary in each year of the deal, starting with a cap hit of $1,272,870 in year one.
Top 45 Picks From 2025 Draft Have Signed NBA Contracts
It has been 16 days since the NBA’s 2025 draft wrapped up and just 11 days since those draftees were permitted to start signing contracts, but the majority of the ’25 draft class have already put pen to paper, finalizing standard or two-way deals with their respective teams.
As our tracker shows, all 30 first-round picks have signed their rookie scale contracts, and the top 15 picks in the second round are now under contract too. Outside of the top 45, four additional players – No. 48 pick Javon Small, No. 49 pick Tyrese Proctor, No. 50 pick Kobe Sanders, and No. 55 pick Lachlan Olbrich – have formally inked their first NBA contracts.
That leaves the following players who don’t yet have an NBA contract in place for the 2025/26 season:
Boston Celtics: Amari Williams- Milwaukee Bucks: Bogoljub Markovic
- New York Knicks: Mohamed Diawara
- Golden State Warriors: Alex Toohey
- Utah Jazz: John Tonje
- Indiana Pacers: Taelon Peter
- Golden State Warriors: Will Richard
- Boston Celtics: Max Shulga
- Cleveland Cavaliers: Saliou Niang
- Memphis Grizzlies: Jahmai Mashack
A number of these players are expected to end up on two-way deals — Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Twitter links) reported on draft night that both of these Celtics picks – Williams and Shulga – would be signing two-ways with Boston, for instance.
Still, not all of these guys will be on NBA rosters when the 2025/26 season begins. For example, the expectation is that Niang will spend next season in the EuroLeague with Virtus Bologna.
Players born outside the U.S. and/or ones who already have experience in non-NBA leagues are typically the best candidates to become overseas draft-and-stash players, so that could be an option for late second-rounders like Markovic, Diawara, and Toohey too. It’s hardly a given though. Post-draft reporting indicated that the Bucks and Knicks weren’t yet sure if Markovic and Diawara, respectively, will be stashed in Europe or if they’ll play stateside in ’25/26. Diawara, in particular, might have a chance to earn a standard contract for a New York team with little breathing room below its hard cap.
The other option for draft-and-stash players is to spend the season in the G League rather than in a league outside the U.S. Typically, at least one or two players go that route each season. That’s what Nikola Djurisic, the Hawks’ No. 43 overall pick a year ago, did in 2024/25 before signing his first NBA contract with Atlanta earlier this week.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on these players in the coming days and weeks, as many of them could end up finalizing their plans for 2025/26 either during the Las Vegas Summer League or shortly thereafter.
And-Ones: Veteran Extensions, Summer League, Rubio, Arcidiacono
This offseason has seen a trio of Thunder players receive maximum-salary contract extensions in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren, with Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. and Suns guard Devin Booker among the other veterans who have signed – or at least agreed to – lucrative extensions.
That still leaves several dominoes to fall, according to John Hollinger of The Athletic, many of which are more interesting than your usual run-of-the-mill negotiations. It has already been reported that Nikola Jokic isn’t expected to sign a new deal with the Nuggets, for instance, as he would be eligible for a much higher number if he waits a year.
Another example of a conversation that is more complicated than it would appear is the Lakers and Luka Doncic. Because Doncic was traded while on his second contract, he is not super-max eligible. Because of that, it’s possible that he could negotiate to remove his player option and extend for three years with a player option, which would set him up for a new deal in 2028 that would be worth the 35% max for 10-year veterans.
Kristaps Porzingis and Trae Young of the Hawks, Darius Garland with the Cavaliers, Mikal Bridges with the Knicks, Kevin Durant with the Rockets, De’Aaron Fox with the Spurs, and Toumani Camara with the Trail Blazers are among the other extension candidates Hollinger identifies and examines.
We have more from around the world of hoops:
- The beauty of Summer League is that there’s something for every fan base to find hope in. ESPN’s Kevin Pelton and Jeremy Woo go through all 30 rosters to spotlight a player to watch for every team. While some, like Cooper Flagg in Dallas, are obvious, not every team has a top pick. Pelton points to LJ Cryer for the Warriors and Kobe Brown for the Clippers, while Woo looks at Kobe Bufkin for the Hawks and Taelon Peter for the Pacers, among others.
- Ricky Rubio recently opened up about his mental health struggles that have kept him out of basketball for the last year. He spoke with Jorge Quiroga of Marca about his time with the Timberwolves, saying, “I had a rough time in my third year. Things weren’t going well, and I gave an interview to a journalist. My parents came to see me in Minneapolis, and after the game, I talked to my mom and cried, telling her I wanted to leave.” When it comes to his future, he said, “I’d like to play basketball without being Ricky Rubio, but it’s impossible. I want to play basketball, but I can’t. I’m trying my best to see if I can.”
- Former Knicks guard Ryan Arcidiacono has agreed to a deal with Trapani Shark, a Sicilian-based team in Italy’s top league, per a press release. Arcidiacano played seven years in the NBA, averaging 4.0 points and 1.9 assists per game. He most recently played with the Windy City Bulls in the G League, averaging 8.2 PPG and 3.3 APG in 21 minutes a night.
Pacers Re-Sign Isaiah Jackson To Three-Year Deal
3:59 pm: Jackson has officially re-signed with the Pacers, the team announced today in a press release.
2:59 pm: The Pacers and restricted free agent center Isaiah Jackson have reached an agreement on a new three-year contract worth $21MM, agents Drew Morrison and Sam Rose tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
The 22nd overall pick in the 2021 draft, Jackson played a modest role through his first four seasons in Indiana, averaging 7.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 15.0 minutes per game across 163 appearances (31 starts). He missed nearly the entire 2024/25 season due to a right Achilles tear that he suffered in the sixth game of the season.
James Wiseman, who sustained a torn Achilles of his own in the Pacers’ regular season opener last October, appeared to have moved ahead of Jackson on the center depth chart entering the season. Given that context and the fact that Jackson is now coming off a major injury, it was somewhat surprising that the 23-year-old received a $6.4MM qualifying offer from Indiana last month to make him a restricted free agent.
That qualifying offer and this new three-year agreement are strong signals that the Pacers still believe in Jackson’s potential and feel good about where he’s at in his recovery from Achilles surgery.
The QO also makes more sense in retrospect knowing that Myles Turner‘s return to Indiana wasn’t the virtual lock that it seemed to be entering the free agent period. With Turner now in Milwaukee, Jackson will have an opportunity this fall to compete for minutes at center with Jay Huff, Tony Bradley, and Wiseman, who has returned to the Pacers on a new deal of his own.
Jackson’s new deal will give the Pacers 15 players on standard contracts for 2025/26, though Wiseman only has a partial guarantee and Bradley’s 2025/26 salary is non-guaranteed, so it’s possible those two big men will be battling for a single roster spot.
Contract Details: A. Jackson, K. Jones, Small, Sanders, Bagley
The Bucks originally had a July 7 deadline to decide whether or not they wanted to guarantee Andre Jackson‘s full $2.22MM salary for the 2025/26 season, but reporting on Monday indicated that the team had awarded the guard a partial guarantee on that figure as part of an agreement to move back his full salary guarantee date.
According to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link), Jackson received an $800K partial guarantee as part of that agreement, locking in a little over a third of his ’25/26 salary. His new guarantee date will be one day before the start of the regular season in the fall.
In other words, if Jackson earns a spot on the Bucks’ opening night roster, his full salary for next season will be locked in, but the team has a few more months to make that decision.
Here are a few more contract details from around the NBA:
- Kam Jones‘ four-year, $8.7MM contract with the Pacers is fully guaranteed in year one, with a 50% partial guarantee for year two, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). That means only about $2.35MM of Jones’ total salary will be guaranteed, including $1.27MM in year one. The 6’5″ guard was the 38th overall pick in last month’s draft.
- The two-way contract that No. 48 overall pick Javon Small signed with the Grizzlies will cover two seasons, per Scotto (Twitter link). That will put Small on track for restricted free agency in 2027 if he’s not promoted (or waived) before then.
- Kobe Sanders‘ two-way contract with the Clippers is also for two years, tweets Smith. Sanders was the No. 50 overall pick in the 2025 draft.
- Marvin Bagley III‘s one-year, minimum-salary deal with the Wizards is guaranteed, Hoops Rumors has learned. Washington now has 16 players on guaranteed contracts, plus Richaun Holmes and Justin Champagnie on non-guaranteed deals, so some roster moves will be necessary in D.C. at some point — the team won’t have to resolve that situation until the day before the regular season, however.
Central Notes: Giannis, Turner, Pacers, Lanier, Holland
Appearing on a live stream in Greece on Thursday with YouTube personality IShowSpeed, Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was asked if his plan is to remain in Milwaukee going forward.
“Probably,” Antetokounmpo said (Twitter video link). “We’ll see. Probably. I love Milwaukee.”
While any public statement that Antetokounmpo makes about his future is notable, it’s hard to draw any definitive conclusions from those brief comments — they’re pretty much what you’d expect him to say if he hasn’t requested a trade but also hasn’t yet decisively committed to not asking for a trade. And by all accounts, that’s where his situation currently stands.
As we wait for a more conclusive update on Giannis’ future, the Bucks and their fans can take solace in the “probably” part of his response on Thursday, while potential suitors will likely be emboldened by the “we’ll see.”
Here’s more from around the Central:
- After signing with the Bucks on Monday following 10 years in Indiana, Myles Turner published a farewell to Pacers fans on his Instagram account on Thursday. “This chapter is closing, but the respect and love I have for this city and its people is forever,” Turner wrote within a much longer statement. “Thank you Indy, from the bottom of my heart. I mean it when I say The 317 will always be home. And I’ve been proud to call myself a Hoosier! I hope you continue to embrace me as much as I’ve always embraced you!”
- Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star shares three takeaways from the Pacers‘ victory in their first Las Vegas Summer League game on Thursday, noting that two-way players RayJ Dennis (26 points, nine assists) and Quenton Jackson (24 points on 8-of-10 shooting) were among the standouts. It would be a boon for the Pacers if Dennis emerges as a reliable option at the NBA level, Dopirak observes, since the team will be on the lookout for additional point guard depth with Tyrese Haliburton out for the entire 2025/26 season.
- Pistons second-round pick Chaz Lanier believes he’s capable of “immediately” playing a role for his new NBA team as a rookie, he told reporters during his introductory press conference this week. “Coming in to do whatever they need me to do,” Lanier said, per Coty M. Davis of The Detroit News. “Coming in and making shots when I need to. … I am a shooter first, that is what I hang my hat on; putting the ball in the basket. However, I believe that at the NBA level, you need to be able to make an impact on defense. That is how I plan on making my mark.”
- Pistons forward Ron Holland, who turned 20 on Monday, was pleased that he was able to earn an every-game rotation role as a rookie last season, but he feels like he “left a lot on the table” and “could’ve done more,” as Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press relays (subscription required). “That’s definitely putting a chip on my shoulder and being able to go into next season trying to thrive and get better every single day,” Holland said.