Pacers draft Tyrese Haliburton's injury replacement with superstar college lefty

Billy Heyen

Pacers draft Tyrese Haliburton's injury replacement with superstar college lefty image

The Indiana Pacers need a point guard replacement for Tyrese Haliburton after the superstar's torn Achilles.

And with the 38th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, which they acquired from the San Antonio Spurs, they may have gotten one.

Kam Jones from Marquette is the newest Pacers player.

Indiana still has T.J. McConnell, of course, and he'll likely start at point guard in 2025-26.

But Jones could play a crucial role if the Pacers want to stay in contention in the Eastern Conference despite the absence of Haliburton.

In his final season at Marquette for Shaka Smart, Jones averaged 5.9 assists per game.

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He's also a skilled scorer, a lefty who poured in 19.2 points per game.

He also grabbed 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. 

His shooting regressed, but as a junior, Jones had shot 40.6% from 3, so there's some shooting talent there, too.

Jones is big enough at 6-foot-4 to eventually play alongside the lanky Haliburton, so it's both a good near-term and long-term pick.

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Billy Heyen

Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who has written about many sports and fantasy sports for The Sporting News. Sports reporting work has also appeared in a number of newspapers, including the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle