1:22pm: Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files (Twitter link) hears that Smith still hasn’t finalized a decision on his player option.
He doesn’t formally have to make a decision until Saturday, so even if the plan for now is to decline the option, he has another day to change his mind and opt in.
12:48pm: Pacers big man Jalen Smith has decided not to pick up his player option for the 2024/25 season, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Declining that $5.42MM option will make Smith an unrestricted free agent on Sunday.
Smith, one of Myles Turner‘s backups at center, was among the beneficiaries of the Pacers’ high-flying offense led by Tyrese Haliburton, setting new career highs in points per game (9.9), field-goal percentage (59.2%), and three-point percentage (42.4%) in 2023/24. He also contributed 5.5 rebounds per game in his part-time role (17.2 MPG).
Teams with interest in Smith may be wary of his leap in efficiency – he was a 48.5% career shooter, including 29.7% on three-pointers prior to ’23/24 – but he’s a versatile forward/center who is still just 24 years old and should get a long look from teams in need of frontcourt depth.
A new agreement with Indiana remains a possibility, since the team will hold his Bird rights and can go over the cap to re-sign him. However, Indiana has already committed to Pascal Siakam on a four-year, maximum-salary contract and will have to deal with Obi Toppin‘s restricted free agency as well.
With the luxury tax line to consider and Isaiah Jackson a candidate to take on a larger role at the five, the Pacers will likely be cautious about how high they go to retain Smith, who came in at No. 42 on our list of this year’s top 50 free agents.