Dustin Dopirak
INDIANAPOLIS — With less than a week to go until the start of preseason camp, the Pacers’ backup center situation isn’t any less settled than it was when the 2022-23 season ended. In fact, it’s probably even more muddled.
Myles Turner is, of course, the starter. He was one of only two players general manager Chad Buchanan was willing to refer to as a certain member of the starting lineup Tuesday, the other being All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Turner has started every game he’s played in for the last five seasons and he’s averaging 28.8 minutes per game for his career.
However, there are still three players heading into camp who will be vying for the 18-20 minutes per game when Turner isn’t on the floor — 31-year-old Daniel Theis, 21-year-old Isaiah Jackson and 23-year-old Jalen Smith. Buchanan says the Pacers will give all three the opportunity to win the job and won’t look to move anyone until they’re certain of the direction they want to go.
“I think that’s all going to play out on the court,” Buchanan said at a media availability scheduled to coincide with the start of the season. “I think obviously Myles is going to be an anchor for us. The other three guys between Isaiah, Jalen and Daniel, it’s going to be very competitive starting from Day 1. It is competitive. It’s guys going at each other. I think that’s going to carry over into training camp. I think coach (Rick) Carlisle and us as a front office want to see how it plays out on the court. We don’t want to give anybody something right now, it’s gotta be earned. That’s the growth of a team and the growth of a player is earning your minutes and earning your roles.”
Having all three players on the roster caused a playing time logjam last season as well, though it was only a three-man issue for a short time. Theis, acquired in July of 2022 with Aaron Nesmith in the trade that sent Malcolm Brogdon to the Celtics, was dealing with consistent knee pain and had surgery in November that kept him off the floor until early February. Jackson started the season as the backup center and didn’t have to share that position with anybody until Smith moved from starting power forward to backup center in December. When Theis returned in February, the Pacers rotated the three men, giving each two games to play and four on the bench, which ultimately meant a severe minutes cut for Smith and Jackson. By the end of February, however, Carlisle said the Pacers were committed to developing Jackson and Smith and Theis didn’t play the rest of the season.
This offseason, all three players will start on equal footing and all three helped themselves with their offseason. Jackson performed well at the NBA Summer League, scoring 34 points and grabbing 25 rebounds in two games. Theis started at center for Germany in the FIBA World Cup, helping the country win its title. Smith’s summer was quieter, but he spent most of it in Indianapolis working on his game.
All three players bring a different style of play. Theis, of course, is the most battle-tested with seven seasons of NBA service time. He played on three playoff squads with the Celtics including the 2021-22 team that reached the NBA Finals before losing to Golden State. At 6-8, 245 pounds he has the most muscled-up frame of the three, which helps him on box outs and screens, but he’s also a skilled shooter, ball-handler and passer for his size.
Jackson arguably has the best raw athletic tools of the three. He had the highest field goal percentage of the group last season (.563) in large part because so much of his offense comes from finishing alley-oop lobs. He averaged 3.2 blocks per 36 minutes, the highest on the team, as well as 9.7 rebounds per 36 minutes.
Smith was arguably the most steady producer of the group once he was moved to the 5. He didn’t shoot as well from outside as he hoped, hitting just 28.3% of his attempts. However, he made 54 3-pointers and Theis and Jackson hit just four combined. Smith also rebounded at the highest rate, leading the Pacers with 11.1 rebounds per 36 minutes.
Once the Pacers get a sense of what their rotations will look like, they will probably look to trade one of the players who isn’t getting minutes, Buchanan said. However, they won’t rush to make moves, even once the season starts.
“I think that’s something we’ll have to make a decision on,” Buchanan said. “But we also want to see how the season starts. You may have somebody who plays his way into it early and another person earns it later. I don’t think we want to make a quick decision based on what happens in training camp. We want to let this team have some time together and see how it comes together. You’re going to have injuries to manage, you’re going to have other things to manage. Trade opportunities come. It’s always going to be a fluid situation, but having four centers is something we’re going to have to figure out the long-term answer for, specifically the backup center.”
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star