Indiana Pacers exercise third-year team option on Isaiah Jackson
The Indiana Pacers have been impressed with what they’ve seen from Isaiah Jackson through the early stages of his NBA career.
On Wednesday, the Pacers announced that the franchise has exercised the third-year team option on Jackson, who was taken by Indiana with the 22nd overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Michigan native spent one season with the Kentucky Wildcats (2020-21) before heading off to the league. During his rookie season with the Pacers, Jackson averaged 8.3 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor across 36 games played, including 15 starts.
Indiana also picked up fourth-year options on guards Tyrese Haliburton and Aaron Nesmith, along with the third-year option for guard Chris Duarte. Those three, along with Jackson, are now under contract with the Pacers through the 2023-24 season.
Clocking in at 6-foot-10, 205 pounds, Jackson has a chance to see the floor plenty in year two with the Pacers. He averaged a modest 15.0 minutes per game in his rookie year, but with the franchise entering a full-on rebuild, Jackson should be funneled at least 25-plus minutes per game in 2022-23. He is easily one of the league’s most athletic players at the ripe age of 20 years old. Jackson is a solid rim protector with a growing offensive game.
“He’s elite as a guy that can get above the rim and finish,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of Jackson earlier in the preseason. “
If Indiana ultimately decides to ship off its oft-rumored starting center Myles Turner (which feels likely this time around), Jackson could move into a starting role, albeit for a bad team. Jackson’s numbers last season shot up to 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game on 57.7 percent shooting after the All-Star break.
Jackson initially signed a four-year, $12 million rookie deal with the Pacers. He made $2.4 million last season and will earn $2.5 million this year. Now that his third-year option has been picked up, he will make $2.7 million in 2023-24. If the Pacers ultimately decide to pick up his fourth-year option, Jackson would make $4.4 million in 2024-25.
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