​Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle—along with what appears to be nearly the entire roster—made the trip to Las Vegas to watch their Summer League squad compete. Carlisle joined ESPN’s broadcast during the opener to discuss the upcoming season, and one player has clearly caught his eye: Yuki Kawamura, a 25-year-old guard from Japan standing 5-foot-7, who already has 40 NBA games under his belt across two seasons.
“He’s an easy guy to like,” Carlisle said. “He just kind of explodes into the game. When the coach points to him on the bench, he shoots up to the scorer’s table, and then things just happen.” Carlisle praised Kawamura for his instincts and on-court awareness, noting that Kawamura “really knows how to play. He’s sees things before they happen. He has a great sense for drawing contact and keeping the defense where he wants them to be. He goes hard.” Through two Summer League outings, Kawamura has averaged 10 points and 3.5 assists, and the Pacers have games on Monday and Wednesday to continue evaluating him.
Here he comes: a tantalizing guard added to the Summer League roster. Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers’ star, missed the 2025-26 season after an Achilles injury suffered in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals. Carlisle indicated Haliburton has been participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages for a while now. “It’s going to be a journey for him,” Carlisle said. “He’s aggressively attacking the summer and looking forward to being back on the court.”
The Pacers also made a notable addition in February with the acquisition of center Ivica Zubac. He appeared in a handful of games before injury slowed him, and Carlisle is eager to determine how Zubac can fit into the Pacers’ system. “We’ve not had a guy who can bring that level of rim pressure with rolls, seals, and scoring at the rim,” Carlisle said. “There’s great opportunity here.”
Guard Braden Smith, who shot during a recent practice for the Indiana Pacers’ NBA Summer League team in July, is among the players who have been on the court as part of this broader evaluation process at Ascension St. Vincent Center in Indianapolis. Carlisle’s assessment extends to Jarace Walker, the former No. 8 overall pick who is entering his fourth season and who received significant minutes during a tumultuous 2025-26 campaign for the club. Carlisle wants to see how Walker responds when tasked with serving as a vital reserve within the Pacers’ system.
“We need him to be a star in his role as a system player for us,” Carlisle said. “He does have some star potential, but we’re such an ecosystem-type team that you can’t approach things from an individual standpoint.” For Carlisle, the overarching objective is clear: develop players who can thrive within the Pacers’ collective framework, while also identifying contributors who can elevate the team’s performance as a whole.
The Pacers’ ongoing Summer League slate, highlighted by Kawamura’s steady production and the continued evaluation of Haliburton’s return-to-play progression, remains a focal point as Indiana looks to optimize its roster around a shared philosophy. Dustin Dopirak continues to cover the Pacers across the season, with extended coverage available via IndyStarTV and the Pacers Insider newsletter. This report originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star, underscoring Kawamura’s arrival as a source of excitement for Indiana’s Summer League efforts as the team builds toward a new season.