Pacers announce Tyrese Haliburton and Bruce Brown signings

The Pacers confirmed reports of their offseason moves at the Fieldhouse.

The NBA’s free agent moratorium ended at 12:01 p.m. ET on Thursday and the Pacers wasted no time officially finalizing the reported deals with Bruce Brown and Tyrese Haliburton at the Fieldhouse. We also confirmed separate trades that has Obi Toppin joining the Pacers and Chris Duarte being moved to Sacramento. Plus, confirmation of another great story, Oshae Brissett signing with the Boston Celtics.

After officially signing the paperwork, the Haliburton and Brown had separate media sessions with Rick Carlisle and Kevin Pritchard, starting with Bruce Brown who we learned started his day with a 6:30 a.m. workout at the Fieldhouse.

Brown was subdued, mainly from the nerves he admitted feeling, and not exactly verbose when talking about the deal or answering questions. He left little doubt he preferred to let his game do the talking. When asked about his offensive game having room to grow, he simply replied, “We’ll see.” But the confident answer actually implied, “You’ll see.”

Brown took an initial call from the Knicks right after the free agent period opened last week. The next call was with the Pacers and then the other planned calls were canceled. That $45 million offer for two years with half in the first year was obviously more than expected and solidified the Pacers interest in getting a deal done.

Kevin Pritchard mentioned that Brown was their top target, ticking off defense, toughness and winning among the key attributes they were targeting which kept Brown at the top of the list in any free agent discussions.

Top target, though?

That tells me the front office is not truly considering any big money free agents, unless they are already in the organization. That doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to deal for a higher level player with a bigger price tag, but making such a deal is a struggle with the current roster. But as Rick Carlisle mentioned, they still have dry powder with extra draft picks and a few players on desirable contracts to adjust if needed during the season.

Haliburton in Indy for the long haul

While the Pacers didn’t blow a lot of money on free agents, there’s no way to call the organization cheap on a day when they committed to well over $200 million (and possibly way, way over) to franchise star, Tyrese Haliburton with a 5-year contract extension.

We’ve seen the big contracts change players over the years, and Haliburton was asked about why he will stay when others didn’t want to. He deflected the question easily and emphasized his comfort level in the Midwest along with the organization making him feel valued by including his input in the draft process and free agent discussions. Bruce Brown also credited Hali with giving him a little recruiting pitch.

For now, the face of the franchise, a young player with an easy smile who is a natural connector, not only with his teammates but the whole community, is now locked up with the Pacers for at least six years. And as he added, hopefully more.

Obi Toppin and Chris Duarte trades confirmed

Kevin Pritchard alluded to the Pacers acquisition of Obi Toppin early in Bruce Browns presser without mentioning his name. Then Rick Carlisle left no doubt, referring to Toppin as ‘the rumored player’ and sharing that TRP (Toppin) was the league’s top player in transitions eFG percentage, and that Haliburton was ranked second and Brown third. Yep, they will be ready to run.

Dustin Dopirak confirmed reports on the Toppin and Chris Duarte trades with the Pacers sending two second-round picks to the Knicks for Toppin while receiving two second-round picks from the Kings for Duarte. For housekeeping purposes, the Pacers will receive Dallas’ 2028 second-round pick and Sacramento’s 2030 (!!!) second-round pick for Duarte. The Pacers sent the Knicks the least favorable of the Pacers’ and Suns’ 2028 second round pick along with the least favorable of the Pacers’ and Wizards second-round picks in 2029.

Whew, let’s hope both of those picks to the Knicks are the Pacers second-rounders.

Oshae Brissett to Boston

One good thing Nate Bjorkgren did in his brief stint with the pandemic Pacers was add Oshae Brissett on a 10-day contract at the end of the 2020-21 season. Brissett had played with Bjorkgren as an assistant on the Raptors the year prior, as well as Team Canada. After a strong season with the Mad Ants, Brissett was rewarded with an opportunity with the Pacers. His effort and energy on the floor was impressive giving the Pacers a defensive boost off the bench. When his streaky shot was rolling, he was quite effective as a swiss army forward.

Brissett earned his second 10-day contract and then the Pacers signed him at the end of the season to a long-term deal which expired at the end of the season. Brissett’s playing time diminished this past season with younger players given more minutes. Regardless, Brissett remained a beloved teammate and fan favorite. Seeing him sign another long-term deal with the C’s is simply heartwarming, much like Bruce Brown finally cashing in after grinding so hard when it wasn’t always easy.

The press conference videos for Tyrese Haliburton and Bruce Brown are below.

Haliburton presser:

Bruce Brown presser: