The Indiana Pacers' hopes of being legitimate NBA title contenders in 2025-26 were dashed the moment Tyrese Haliburton went down with an Achilles tendon tear in last year's Finals. The team's front office still deserves credit for forifying the point guard position in the absence of their best player.
Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell are two members of last year's roster who are going to soak up a lot of Haliburton's workload. The franchise moved to sign Monte Morris this week in an effort to give their bench backcourt more stability. He won't cause anyone in Indiana to forget about Haliburton, but he can help keep the offense ticking this season in his absence.
Even without Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers built a strong point guard rotation
The 30-year-old veteran didn't play his best basketball last season in Phoenix. To his credit, the Suns' roster was dysfunctional for long stretches of his tenure with the Western Conference team. Even so, he managed to show enough competenze at the point guard position to prove that he can help the Pacers this year.
The swing skill for Morris in Indiana will continue to be his effectiveness in shooting the ball behind the arc. He's lost a step off the dribble, but he still shot 36 percent from 3-point land last season. If he can continue to provide the Pacers spacing with his shooting ability, it could do wonders to boost the offensive efficiency of the second unit.
It's also worth noting that Morris' deal with the Pacers is non-guaranteed. If he comes into training camp and struggles with his jump shot, then Indiana can cut him without any meaningful consequences. Morris should fancy his chances of making the roster on Opening Night, but he needs to enjoy a productive preseason to make sure a younger player doesn't beat him out for his roster spot.
In the end, it's unlikely that signing Morris will do much to change the Pacers' win total this year. Instead, the reasonable expectation is that he can help the team enjoy competent point guard play. That should help the rest of the team's roster continue to grow their game in Haliburton's absence. That should be the franchise's focus in what could easily turn into a frustrating gap year without their star lead guard.