After the NBA Draft concluded on Wednesday, June 25 2026, Pacers General Manager, Chad Buchanan, had a press conference where he discussed the decision to acquire Braden Smith in a draft-day trade for Kam Jones, but he also fielded questions on two of the Pacers injured players, Tyrese Haliburton and Johnny Furphy. The young wing suffered a torn ACL on February 8, 2026, at the Scotiabank Arena, in Toronto, Canada, where he landed awkwardly after an emphatic dunk against the Raptors. This injury came as devastating news since the Pacers had shifted their focus to playing young players versus trying to win games. Furphy was making strides in his developmental season, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Indiana utilized him in different roles, but we saw his best basketball being played in a small-ball lineup next to Pascal Siakam. Head coach, Rick Carlisle, had nothing but praise for the sophomore standout and the season he was having, highlighting his great attitude and work ethic. Furphy | Justin Edmonds/Getty ImagesChad Buchanan gave a positive update on the 6-foot-9 wing, sharing this encouraging update: "If you were to watch him out here, you'd be like, this guy looks like he could play. Obviously he's not there yet, everything is going well with Johnny." Buchanan continued, "He's in here pretty much at the same time Tyrese [Haliburton] is. If you were to watch him, he's moving, he's shooting; I think his recovery is going exceptionally well.Buchanan added that Furphy is adding strength to his body during the rehab process, and that is "a big priority moving forward" for him heading into his third season. Johnny Furphy pulled up courtside for tonight's @IndianaFever game 👋 pic.twitter.com/JX9ekGws6w— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) June 17, 2026Last year, Furphy played in a total of 35 games for the blue and gold and posted 5.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.6 steals per game He averaged a total of 18.4 minutes per game and started in 21 of them. Furphy's three-point shot is still a work in progress, as he only connected on 32.4% last season, but that was an improvement from the 30% he shot the year prior. He had a terrific shooting percentage from two-point range, connecting on 60.3% of his shots, but he was a woeful 48.6% free throw shooter. The future is still bright for Furphy and the Pacers would love to add a healthy version of him to the playoff roster. He still likely won'y have a big role with the team this season as he is returning from a serious injury, but his skillset is a much needed depth piece that this team would like to be able to play in certain situations. You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow