Pacers Head Coach Rick Carlisle Opens Up On Finals Run, Offseason

LAS VEGAS – It wasn’t a long offseason for the Indiana Pacers and head coach Rick Carlisle.

On June 22, the Pacers played in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Three days later, the NBA Draft began. Free agency was full speed ahead less than a week later. After a dramatic and magical playoff run, the Pacers had almost no time to decompress before making important decisions.

“It’s the NBA. This kind of stuff is normal,” Carlisle said of the quick offseason while taking in a Pacers summer league game. “Great year, great run. Disappointing ending to the Finals. But our guys poured every last bit of everything they had into it. We’re very proud.”

What is different for Carlisle and the Pacers going forward?

Carlisle has been to the Finals many times throughout his career, yet the 2024-25 postseason put his Pacers in the top class of contenders again. Indiana’s 2024 trek to the Eastern Conference Finals was met with skeptics as the team was still emerging, but that journey was validated by another deep playoff run in 2025. The Pacers were built on depth and speed, and it was hard to beat them on the biggest stage. They were just one game away from a title while fighting every longstanding adage about playoff basketball.

Now, everything looks different for the blue and gold. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss the entirety of the upcoming campaign with a torn Achilles, and starting center Myles Turner is gone after signing a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. Carlisle and the Pacers will take on new challenges in 2025-26, then again in 2026-27 when Haliburton presumably returns.

Carlisle fielded several questions about his team, their direction, the magical 2025 playoff run, and ongoing offseason while in Las Vegas. The entire Q&A can be found below, with some questions edited for clarity and brevity.

Tony East: Have you been able to appreciate the playoff run yet even though it didn’t end how you wanted?

Rick Carlisle: Yeah, because I’ve had so many people come up and just talk about how inspiring our guys were to them. We were underdogs really a massive majority of the way. People just got a real great feeling watching how our guys competed.

East: Were you surprised to have lost Myles Turner? You’ve done a center-by-committee approach before, how do you expect that to go for the Pacers this year?

Carlisle: We’ll be fine.

East: What do you like about Jay Huff and what he can bring to the team?

Carlisle: I like where he is at in his career. He’s the right age, he’s a stretch big who can protect the rim. And with him, Isaiah [Jackson], [James] Wiseman, and Tony Bradley, we’ve got a lot of different options.

East: Do you know if Isaiah Jackson and James Wiseman will be ready for the opening night of training camp after their Achilles tears?

Carlisle: I don’t know for sure, but it certainly seems like they’re going to be in good shape.

East: How do you feel about having Isaiah Jackson back, and what can he do for you guys next year?

Carlisle: I just love how hard he’s worked through this whole rehab. He’s kept a very upbeat attitude, as has James Wiseman. Those guys have worked extremely hard with Jim Boylen like every day since they’ve been on the court. They’re putting the work in. So the hope is that they’ll be ready. It certainly looks like they will be.

East: What endeared you to Kam Jones and Taelon Peter in the NBA Draft?

Carlisle: I mean, really, I didn’t know much about these guys. I saw Taelon’s workout. I happened to be in the gym, that was one day I was in the gym. Kam Jones had a great career at Marquette, so I’m aware of him. But these guys are doing good things. They’re learning a lot in a very short period of time.

East: What excites you about the upcoming season, even though it might look a little different without [Tyrese Haliburton] and a changed starting five?

Carlisle: It’s going to present a great opportunity in some form. I saw a thing today where they had us ranked 20th or 21st in the league going into next year. That’s good motivation. So we’ll have a chance to have a real opportunity to help develop some guys in some real quality minutes. And we’re trying to win.

East: What are you hoping to see from Johnny Furphy in summer league, and how have you felt about his appearances so far?

Carlisle: He’s going to be a factor for us. He runs, he rebounds, he makes open shots and plays a winning brand of basketball. He worked really hard this year. [He] had great stints in the G League with the Mad Ants. Looking forward to getting him into training camp.

East: Do you know where Jarace Walker is with his recovery from an ankle injury?

Carlisle: Progressing. I don’t know exactly where he is. But I know he’s probably back on the court now. In terms of what percent of full recovery, I don’t know. But we’ll find out soon. It’s a short summer, so he’s going to have to get after it.

After the interview, Carlisle returned to his seat near Pacers players Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam. They all watched the second half of a summer league battle against the Thunder. Those two players project to be important Indiana starters this season as the team tries to win as much as they can in their new reality.