Pacers training camp day one notebook: Walker's new focus, Haliburton returns

INDIANAPOLIS – There he was, wearing a practice jersey with a 0 on it.

Tuesday was Tyrese Haliburton's first practice back with the Pacers after recovering from his torn Achilles. Training camp has officially begun for the Pacers as they look to reclaim their spot at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Haliburton's uniform was yellow, a new color for practice attire. He doesn't care for the graffiti style kits. But he does care to be back and enjoyed time on the court with his teammates.

"It was fun. Over the last couple of days, the mundane parts of the NBA have just been fun for me again," Haliburton said. "Just glad to be back on the court."

Jarace Walker lit up when asked about having Haliburton on the practice floor alongside him. The young forward said Haliburton's energy and presence are felt all around the gym.

"Around the state," he added.

Walker echoed today what Ivica Zubac shared during media day on Monday – there will be little, if any, re-adjusting period for Haliburton's return. His skill and IQ are easy to mesh with, and it helps that he's a full go to open camp.

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

Haliburton explained that his work in the summer was actually harder than these practice days are going to be. That's intentional from the Pacers, who used a scientific approach to their player's offseasons so they could ramp up ahead of training camp and start at the proper conditioning level.

"We're trying to get in great shape," head coach Rick Carlisle said.

Haliburton was joined by the expected group of players in yellow uniforms: Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Ivica Zubac. Haliburton said in August that he plans to make it so he and Zubac are on the same team in every possible practice setting. That will help them gain chemistry ahead of the season.

In blue pinnies when the doors to practice opened to the media: Obi Toppin, T.J. McConnell, Kelly Oubre, and Jay Huff. That's much of the second unit. The biggest question about the team's rotation couldn't be answered by the blue kits as Walker was just in a yellow t-shirt at that point, but it's noteworthy that Huff appeared to be the backup five.

Ben Sheppard and Jalen Slawson were in green, perhaps a tell that Walker worked with the twos. It's too early to make any declarations about that.

"There's days when gold wins, days when blue wins, days when green wins," Haliburton said. "It's all part of training camp... I'm sure we'll be sick of each other here soon. I'm already sick of playing against these guys... nobody is more annoying than Quenton Jackson."

Other notes from day one of Pacers training camp:

The first day's focus? Nothing in particular

Rick Carlisle didn't get into the specific strategy used to run day one of Pacers training camp.

"We're trying to get in great shape. We're working on our defense very diligently, and we're making necessary offensive adjustments based on new personnel," Carlisle shared.

Haliburton simply said "basketball," when asked about the focuses at the start of camp. He noted that things didn't feel much different when compared to the opening practices from past seasons – most of the changes, as noted above, came in the months leading up to Tuesday. The Pacers are trying to combat soft tissue injuries with the new approach.

"I think just the way we prepared through the summer, tracking our load management stuff," Haliburton said of the differences from past seasons. "Obviously dealt with a lot of soft tissue stuff over the last year and a half, two years. So just trying to manage all those things the correct way."

A small injury and signs of Johnny Furphy life

Last week, Pacers Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Ted Wu shared that the expected (ish) return for forward Johnny Furphy could come "sometime in the middle of the year."

On Tuesday, he was getting up some jumpers after the Pacers practiced.

The only other injury currently belongs to Larry Nance, who tweaked his hamstring just over two weeks ago. Carlisle shared that Nance is only doing 5-on-0 right now and that he's making progress. The team is confident he'll be into the normal flow of things in a week or two – so before the regular season.

Jarace Walker enters year four

Walker is heading into his fourth season, and it's a big one. He's eligible for a contract extension until the season starts. If he doesn't sign one, he'll enter free agency next summer.

His career has featured high highs that make it seem like Walker is trending toward the player the Pacers hoped he'd become when they selected him with a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He's also had low lows that make many wonder why he's getting playing time at all.

Walker was productive when given chances to play during the 2025 postseason. He could be a key piece off the bench this year.

"He's looked good," Haliburton said of Walker. Carlisle offered the exact same line. "He's had a very good summer, in great shape," the head coach added.

The emphasis for Walker this year, according to Carlisle, is becoming a better system player. That's what has made Sheppard valuable for the Pacers over the years – he's been a star in his role, whatever it may be. That's what the team wants to see from Walker.

"It's just an understanding that there's great value in it for him. Guys like him with his physical tools and skill, if they're dependable system players that have built trust, let's be honest, there's a lot of money in it," Carlisle said. "So why wouldn't you be interested in that? And the opportunity to help a team win."

Walker said that he feels more comfortable, and more like himself, entering camp this year. His focus level is higher. To use the colloquial modern term, he's more locked in.

He's also ready to sacrifice and be the best system player he can. "Just doing all the little things — rebounding, running, getting to my spots, taking open shots, limiting turnovers, just playing the right way," he said of what that means for his role.

The young forward focused on his conditioning in the offseason, which included another trip down to Orlando to work with Siakam and other young Pacers forwards. There, he focused on simplifying his game and staying in attack mode.

It's a big year for Walker. Simple basketball and system successes will benefit the Pacers a great deal from their backup wing.

Staff and player updates

The core 14 players, plus all three two-way contract signees, were at camp on Tuesday. James Johnson was there too. The two other attendees were big men: Exhibit 10 recipients Rienk Mast and Keba Keita.

Both bigs played in summer league for the Pacers and are expected to end up with the Noblesville Boom. Given Nance's injury, bringing other centers to camp makes good sense.

There are several staff updates the Pacers revealed recently. Here is that announcement, copy and pasted:

"Within the coaching staff, Isaac Yacob was promoted to Assistant Coach, Jannero Pargo was promoted to Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development, Martin Tombe was promoted to Assistant Coach, Player Development, and Joel Okafor was promoted to Head Video Coordinator. Additionally, Ryan Curran has been hired as Assistant Video Coordinator.

"Mike Born, who previously served as Director of College Scouting, was promoted to Vice President, Player Personnel. Additional promotions within the front office include KJ Pritchard to College Scout/Director of Grassroots Scouting, Hansen Wong to Senior Manager, College and International Scouting, Preston Klaus to Manager, Basketball Strategy, and Jack McHugh to Scouting Intel Specialist. The Pacers also announced the team hired Luca Desta as Director, College Scouting.

"Support staff promotions include Michael Hornback to Senior Director, Player Relations, Zach Eagle to Senior Director, Team Operations, and Cole Petraits being elevated to Head Equipment Manager. The team has also hired Bryan Marshall as Assistant Equipment Manager and Damir Hasanbegovic as Assistant Massage Therapist."

Thank you for reading. I hope this account of training camp was insightful – I'll have one every day until the season begins. Sign up and each story will go straight to your email inbox.