The Indiana Pacers have been granted a $14.1 million disabled player exception, which officially confirms that star guard Tyrese Haliburton will miss all of next season. Teams cannot apply for a DPE unless that player is going to miss an entire year, which is the case for Haliburton and the Pacers.
During Indiana's Game 7 NBA Finals loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in June, Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury in the first quarter of the game. Prior to his injury, the Wisconsin native had scored nine points on 3-for-5 shooting in just seven minutes. He caught fire immediately, and it is fair to wonder how differently things would have turned out for the Pacers had Haliburton not gotten injured.