30 teams in 30 days: Indiana Pacers offseason preview

30 teams in 30 days is a series to get you ready for the NBA offseason — a quick preview of each team’s free agent and salary cap ramifications to help set the table for their summer.

Everything with the Indiana Pacers starts with Paul George. Trade rumors surrounded George throughout the season and reports both before and after the deadline passed indicated that Indiana would only trade George if a major offer came along.

However, Larry Bird has stepped down from his role and Kevin Pritchard has taken over, so the Pacers’ previous demands might not be indicative of what they’re pursuing now. Indiana’s long-term plan depends heavily on what they would receive for George; a cavalcade of future draft picks and youngsters would be very different than a combination of picks and reliable veterans to quickly retool the Pacers for another playoff run. Bird had been asking for prospective trade partners to empty their war chests of picks and youngsters, which may show that the Pacers see Myles Turner as the main building block of the future.

Here’s where the Pacers stand going into free agency:

Outside of George, Indiana’s front office is faced with big decisions on incumbent free agents Jeff Teague and C.J. Miles. Miles holds a player option but will not opt-in to about $4.8 million for next season, and Teague will be a free agent after being traded to his hometown team last summer from Atlanta. Teague struggled early in the season to fit in with the Pacers but played well as the season continued and will be heavily pursued by a number of teams this summer. The consensus around the league is that Teague could command as much as $20 million per season, whereas Miles will get offers in the $10 million per season range to be a valuable wing shooter off the bench. The Pacers can afford to bring back both Teague and Miles for any price using their Bird rights and aren’t particularly close to the tax.

However, the Pacers aren’t stuck with Teague and Miles — they can open up more than $21 million in cap space to bring in replacements if the pair chooses to move on from Indiana, enough to get in on the bidding for Jrue Holiday or ex-Pacer George Hill. They wouldn’t even have to part with Miles to sign a higher-caliber $20 million point guard and they’d still be able to fill out the team with their Room Exception ($4.3 million) and minimum contracts, in addition to their No. 18 overall pick in the upcoming draft:

In the event of a George trade, Teague and Miles could return to Indiana on shorter deals (perhaps at a higher annual value) as steady veterans to bridge the gap as Turner continues to grow. In particular, Teague would be valuable for Turner’s growth, as they developed their chemistry last season and a stable point guard situation is invaluable for the offensive development of a young big man.

A full-blown tear down of the team, including a George trade, opting to let Lavoy Allen walk, and renouncing all their current free agents would net the Pacers more than $50 million in cap space (minus any salary they receive back in the George trade), but this year’s current crop of older free agents wouldn’t be conducive to a rebuilding team.

Next: 30 teams in 30 days: Milwaukee Bucks offseason preview

The Pacers are in the unenviable position of having to navigate constant trade and future free agency rumors regarding their star player, but they’ve got more flexibility than most teams in a similar situation and could splash some cash around the league to bring in free agents in one final attempt to appease George or quickly retool around Turner and the package they receive in exchange for George. Of course, the other option is that they splash that cash and George still bolts for purpler and golder pastures. While that alternative is the least appealing of the three, Indiana would still have a ton of cap space, a capable point guard and a quality young big man around which they can build their team.