LeBron James seems to have axed the idea of signing with one particular Eastern Conference club, and the New York Knicks should be absolutely elated.
During a recent appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Tyrese Haliburton revealed that the future Hall of Famer completely evaporated any hope of the two joining forces on the Pacers this coming season, with the point guard saying he already let him down in hilarious fashion via text.
"I texted [LeBron]... before Fanatics Fest, and I said, 'Hey, you should come be a Pacer.' And he responded with six laughing-crying faces," Haliburton said.
Based on the current betting odds, James' next landing spot is expected to be somewhere out in the East, with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers leading the charge with plus-105 and plus-170 odds, respectively.
While this suggests the defending-champion Knicks will almost certainly be seeing the 22-time All-Star on a consistent basis throughout both the regular season and, potentially, the playoffs, the fact that the Pacers are counted out of the running should give the club some added relief.
Pacers already a projected threat to Knicks without LeBron James
Even without the possibility of LeBron heading to Indiana, the Pacers should already be viewed as one of, if not the biggest, threats in the conference to New York's title repeat hopes in 2026-27.
Last we saw a fully healthy Pacers team, they went on to down the Knicks in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals and then took the eventual 2025 NBA Champion OKC Thunder to seven games in the Finals.
Amid an injury-induced tankathon campaign just this past year, Indiana quietly structured their already imposing core to come back even stronger next season.
Haliburton, who's expected to come back fully healthy following a season-long recovery period for his torn Achilles, will return to a Pacers team that not only still has key All-NBA running mate Pascal Siakam and promising young role players like Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, and Obi Toppin in tow, but will also be joined by crucial newcomer and borderline star pivot Ivica Zubac.
So while everyone may be projecting that clubs like the Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, and Toronto Raptors will be the most serious challengers to dethrone the Knicks as Eastern Conference kings this coming season, quietly rising from the ashes are the 2025 conference champs, the Pacers.
This Indiana squad is slated to be a problem with or without LeBron being added to the mix.
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