Pacers wrap up training camp, head to New Orleans to open pivotal season

NEW ORLEANS – Hello from New Orleans, the site of the Indiana Pacers 2026-27 season opener.

That I am in New Orleans this early means I was not at the Pacers final practice before the regular season begins. Any writeup from me summarizing day 10 of training camp would be somewhat worthless. I wasn't there.

However, other dedicated media members were, and they chatted with head coach Rick Carlisle as well as stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Here are those media availabilities, via the Pacers:

The non-injury quote of note comes from Tyrese Haliburton after a question from WISH/WRTV reporter Angela Moryan about expectations. "The expectations outside of this building have never been bigger than they are in the building. So there's no real worries. Us as a group of guys and as a team know what our goals are, and that's to win a championship. It's been that way for the last few years."

Anyway, a few notes on the Pacers between their final practice and the start of the season.

Circle City Spin

The Indiana Pacers and Indiana Fever, up close

Circle City SpinTony East

No contract extensions for the Pacers

Yesterday, two deadlines passed without action for the Pacers. The first came at 6 p.m. ET – that was the last moment that players entering the final season of their rookie scale contracts could sign an extension.

Cason Wallace and Brandon Miller inked new deals on Monday as a result. The Pacers had two players eligible for such a deal in Ben Sheppard and Jarace Walker, but no new agreements came to pass. Quite frankly, given the Pacers salary cap reality, nothing really made sense here. Both players could be restricted free agents next summer and will play out 2026-27 on an expiring contract.

11:59 p.m. ET was the deadline for teams to ink an extension with players who were A) eligible for an extension and B) have multiple seasons remaining on their contract. That was the case for Pascal Siakam, Anrew Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toppin, Ivica Zubac, and (sort of, it would have required an option decision) T.J. McConnell.

Ultimately, no extensions happened for this group. It was always unlikely. The Pacers multi-year spending outlook, plus the amount of answers they will get from their upcoming bungee jump season (shoutout to ESPN's Ben Golliver for that wonderful phrasing) made patience a sound strategy. That said, all of those players have multiple years remaining on their contract, making the 2027-28 (off)season a more apt time for extensions... but it could make for a nervy summer.

During the coming campaign, the only extension-eligible Pacers players will be Jay Huff (starting on October 28, if his fourth-year team option is declined) and Johnny Furphy (if his fourth-year team option is declined). Don't hold your breath on those.

The only team building consideration for the Pacers in the next few months will relate to their open 15th roster – confirmed now after the team officially announced their opening night roster. Then, of course, comes trades.

Injury updates and clarity

Because the Pacers play a regular season game tomorrow, they are required to submit an official injury report ahead of their game vs the Pelicans. Here are the listings for game one in New Orleans.

Aaron Nesmith: OUT (left hamstring strain)
T.J. McConnell: OUT (right hamstring strain)
Johnny Furphy: OUT (right ACL repair)
Jalen Slawson: PROBABLE (two-way)
Kobe Brown: PROBABLE (two-way)
Braden Smith: DOUBTFUL (two-way)

The Pelicans have no injuries to report ahead of the game.

Wrapping this all up

Pacers sideline reporter Jeremiah Johnson joined me for a podcast looking back at the team's preseason play and spinning it ahead toward the regular season. I will embed that below. Then, a listing of stories providing insights from the Pacers first nine days of training camp.

-Training camp, day one: https://www.circlecityspin.com/pacers-training-camp-day-one-notebook-walkers-new-focus-haliburton-returns/
-Training camp, day two: https://www.circlecityspin.com/pacers-training-camp-day-two-notebook-checking-in-with-rookie-braden-smith/
-Training camp, day three: https://www.circlecityspin.com/inside-pacers-training-cap-day-three-oubre-fitting-huff-teaching-and-more-on-the-second-unit/
-Training camp, day four: https://www.circlecityspin.com/notes-from-pacers-training-camp-day-four-ivica-zubac-learning-the-system/
-Training camp, day five: https://www.circlecityspin.com/pacers-training-camp-practice-five-final-tune-ups-before-preseason/
-Training camp, day six: https://www.circlecityspin.com/pacers-notebook-from-sixth-practice-of-2026-training-camp-zubac-with-haliburton-and-more/
-Training camp, day seven: https://www.circlecityspin.com/notebook-from-day-seven-of-indiana-pacers-training-camp-as-tyrese-haliburton-practices/
-Training camp, day eight: https://www.circlecityspin.com/pacers-training-camp-day-eight-notebook-injuries-haliburton-and-more/
-Training camp, day nine: https://www.circlecityspin.com/inside-pacers-training-camp-day-nine-regular-season-prep-begins/

The regular season is finally here. Expect stories about the Pacers here, at Forbes, and perhaps a soon-announced place as well. Woohoo. Sign up and it will go straight to your email inbox.