Pacers GM Slams Question on Futures of Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin

Pacers GM Slams Question on Futures of Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

To paraphrase the recently-retired Black Sabbath, the Indiana Pacers are going through changes this summer.

Indiana enjoyed a charmed run to the 2025 NBA Finals, capping off an exciting two-year span that saw the Pacers emerge as legitimate Eastern Conference contenders.

Employing an egalitarian, pace-and-space offense centered around core All-Stars Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, Indiana made two straight East Finals appearances via upsets in 2024 and '24. 

This spring, Indiana shockingly solidified its defense, in real time, during the playoffs. By the time the Pacers made the Finals, they had become an alternate-reality echo of their foes, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Indiana seemed like it had a real shot of winning it all in the Finals against the heavily-favored Thunder, before a tragic Haliburton Achilles tear during the first quarter effectively put the kibosh on those aspirations.

Pacers general manager Kevin Pritchard had an eye-opening Summer League press conference Monday, touching on Haliburton's health (he'll miss all of 2025-26 rehabbing), the departure of starting center Myles Turner (Indiana wanted to keep him, and was willing to dip into the luxury tax to do so), and the fate of two key role players.

According to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star, Pritchard had an interesting response when asked about his intentions to extend 2022 draftee Bennedict Mathurin and wing Aaron Nesmith, both of whom are now eligible for contract extensions. For Mathurin, he now becomes eligible for his rookie-scale contract extension. 

In 2025-26, Nesmith will be in the second season of a now insanely team-friendly three-year, $33 million deal.

I asked Pritchard what his plans were for Benn Mathurin and Aaron Nesmith extensions: "Can I just have like 24 hours please?" (I told him, jokingly, no.) He added: "We'll look at all those things, but I think that's a little premature. We have all summer."

— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) July 7, 2025

"Can I just have like 24 hours please?" an exhausted Pritchard asked. "We'll look at all those things, but I think that's a little premature. We have all summer."

When a fan observed that Pritchard in his presser discussed Nesmith, but seemed to skirt the subject of Mathurin, Dopirak highlighted that very thing.

I caught that too.

— Dustin Dopirak (@DustinDopirak) July 7, 2025

"He touched on Aaron, but seemed to avoid talking about Mathurin [in my opinion]," wrote fan Pacer Faithful.

"I caught that too," wrote Dopirak in response.

Mathurin was the better-regarded prospect in the draft, and was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in 2022. But Nesmith (the No. 14 pick in 2020, who only popped after he was flipped to Indiana from the Boston Celtics in 2022), a better and more versatile defender, has emerged as the more critical component of Indiana's success.

Related: Pacers GM Announces Another Center Signing After Myles Turner Exit

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.