Pacers agree to three-year extension with Andrew Nembhard
The Pacers quickly made right by their third-year guard after he outplayed his rookie deal. James Johnson will also reportedly return to fill his valuable role on the roster.
The Pacers and Andrew Nembhard agreed on a three-year, $59 million contract extension, as Woj reported on Wednesday morning.
The new deal is the max the Pacers could offer Nembhard for three years, although a year and roughly $21 million short of the full max the Pacers could (and we can assume were willing) to offer when Nembhard became extension eligible earlier this week.
Nembhard's current four-year rookie contract worth about $8.5 million quickly became one of the most team friendly deals in the league and will remain that way through the third year of the deal this season. The Pacers declined the fourth-year option to agree with Nembhard to an extension that will be far more lucrative for the Swiss Army guard, while remaining a great deal for the team in the current financial state of the NBA.
In four years, Nembhard will be 28 and in the heart of his prime for another run at big free agent money. And to consider the deal from all of the angles, should the Pacers not succeed as expected with Haliburton and Nembhard, this deal makes a trade easy to put together with draft picks for a team desperate for a lead point guard. This also applies, should the Pacers exceed the continually rising expectations and Nembhard decides he wants to run his own team instead of sharing duties with Haliburton.
But as we sit here today, Nembhard’s current commitment has no options (as Tony East reported) and leaves the Pacers with Nembhard, Tyrese Haliburton, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, Ben Sheppard, Jarace Walker, Obi Toppin, and Johnny Furphy under contract for the next three seasons.
The Pacers are banking on continuity and development to continue contending in the East. TJ McConnell and Isaiah Jackson are also extension eligible while Myles Turner will be a free agent following the upcoming season. Regardless of how those three play out past this season, the development of Walker, Sheppard, Benn Mathurin (extension eligible next summer) and Furphy, along with the continued high-level development of Haliburton and Nembhard (natch), will make or break this era of the Pacers which shot ahead of schedule last season but is still relying on several young players to reach their full potential.
Nembhard has blazed a path for those other young players to follow and his commitment to the cause is as big as Pascal Siakam’s earlier in the summer. Now he can fully focus and enjoy his Olympic experience with Team Canada which begins this weekend.
James Johnson back for next season
Woj reported another deal for the Pacers on Wednesday with James Johnson agreeing to a veteran minimum contract for the 2024-25 season worth about $3.3 million.
Johnson’s role as veteran sage and absolute muscle on the bench, quick to protect his teammates from other veteran ‘tough guys’ trying to intimidate the young Pacers, has been quite valuable the past couple of seasons. Watching wide-eyed instigator, Bobby Portis shut up and retreat after hearing James Johnson’s direct response when the Pacers vet walked on the floor during a timeout to shut down the tom foolery directed at Haliburton and his teammates is a stark example of the value JJ brings to make sure his younger teammates don’t worry about any distractions.
With Johnson signed, the Pacers roster is currently full at 15 with three two-way slots to be determined. For a far better description of Johnson’s value, listen to this discussion of the topic between Jeff Teague ( JJ’s former Wake Forest teammate) and Draymond Green. Draymond describes his current value perfectly.