Tyrese Haliburton is getting the full bag from the Indiana Pacers. The All-Star guard has agreed to a five-year extension that could be worth up to $260 million, his agents told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Haliburton, 23, will sign a designated rookie extension, which essentially means that, if he makes an All-NBA team in 2023-24, his new deal could start at 30% of the salary cap when it kicks in before the 2024-25 season. The $260 million number is based on that happening and the salary cap increasing by a full 10%.
Indiana acquired Haliburton in the blockbuster trade that sent Domantas Sabonis to the Sacramento Kings at the 2022 trade deadline, and he quickly established himself as the Pacers' franchise player. In 2022-23, he averaged 20.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 33.6 minutes, with a 62.4% true shooting percentage and a career-high 23.8% usage rate.
Haliburton made 39.7% of his pull-up 3s on 5.5 attempts per game last season. He's also one of the best, most creative passers in the league, and the Pacers scored 116.9 points per 100 possessions (almost identical to the Denver Nuggets' fifth-ranked offense) with him on the court, compared to 109.5 per 100 (almost identical to the San Antonio Spurs' 29th-ranked offense) with him on the bench.
Even if Haliburton does meet his 30% max criteria, Indiana's salary-cap sheet will look relatively clean for the next couple of years. Bruce Brown's hefty contract has a team option on Year 2, Buddy Hield is on an expiring deal and going the renegotiate-and-extend route with Myles Turner means he's only owed $21 million this coming season and $19.9 million in 2024-25. All of this is to say that the Pacers still have plenty of flexibility, should they see an opportunity to make a splashy trade or free-agent signing at some point. And Haliburton is precisely the kind of player that other stars want to play with.
