Insider: George Hill 'all in' as veteran leader for Pacers even with minimal playing time

DETROIT – George Hill knew what his job was supposed to be from the time he arrived back home in Indianapolis on the evening of Feb. 10. He and Jordan Nwora, recently acquired from the Bucks as part of a four-team trade, weren't in town in time for pre-game for the Pacers' game against the Suns and they wouldn't dress until they had a few days to learn the playbook. However, when they got to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, they went straight to the Pacers' bench and Hill started talking, observing, encouraging. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and others said Hill was one of the most vocal players in huddles that night, even though he'd just arrived.

The 36-year-old Hill knows that's how he can best help the Pacers in his second stint with his hometown team. The former Broad Ripple and IUPUI star has lessons learned from 14 years of NBA experience – including 13 trips to the playoffs and a run to the NBA Finals with Cleveland in 2018 – to impart to a team mostly made up of players who have never seen the postseason.

"That's just natural," Hill said. "Who I am. I've always been a team-first guy. Do what the team needs. I've always been a top-tier teammate, encouraging my teammates and being positive. Me coming in that day and talking wasn't something I was trying to establish. It was just me being myself."

More than ever before in his career, Hill's job is to be vocal and to teach more than it is to play. He has for years been considered a respected veteran voice on his teams, but he's generally been a part of well-established rosters that included superstars – Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, Joel Embiid in Philadelphia, LeBron James in Cleveland. He's also generally been at least a rotation player, if not a starter.

'It's gonna be a while':Tyrese Haliburton out at least three games with sprained ankle

But when he was acquired by the Pacers, he was told from the beginning that playing young players would be the priority and that there wouldn't be much in the way of playing time available. In Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin and Chris Duarte they potentially had four core pieces to their future under the age of 25 who needed to play as much as possible, and a pair of still-in-their-prime 30-year-old guards T.J. McConnell and Buddy Hield who already had roles. Hill was given the option of being waived after he was told his minutes would be limited and mentorship would be his best opportunity to make an impact.

So far that's how it's played out. Hill played in just two of the Pacers' first nine games after his arrival, but he's had to play in each of the last four games with the Pacers shorthanded with Haliburton and star rookie Bennedict Mathurin out, averaging close to 19 minutes per game in that stretch. He scored 15 points in the Pacers' win over the Bucks on Thursday on 5 of 6 shooting in his return to Milwaukee, but he took a combined total of just 11 field goal attempts in the other three games.

"Rick (Carlisle) has done a great job of being open and honest," Hill said. "When I first got here, he said, you know, 'We're developing right now and we want our young guys to get some meaningful minutes, but it doesn't mean you're not going to play at all. I want you to still be a leader on and off the court. Show these guys what hard work and a good teammate is and just stay ready at all times.'"

The Pacers already had another player on the roster in a similar role in James Johnson, a 36-year-old forward with 13 years in the league. Johnson has played in just 14 games this season, but is revered in the locker room. He and Hill have quickly learned how to lead from the bench together.

"That's my man," Hill said. "We're kind of like the same on and off the court. We're very team-first-oriented people. Want to see people be happy and want to see people in their element. Always trying to help others. It's been fun getting to know him a lot better. Talking to him and seeing how he engages with players and things like that. He's another voice in this locker room that when people talk, they respect it."

Haliburton, the Pacers' young All-Star, has made a point in saying that he's learned a lot from Johnson, especially about how to invest in teammates and get the most out of them. So far he said he's learned a lot of the same lessons from Hill, but Hill brings even more to the table as an on-court mentor as he's spent the majority of his career as a point guard.

He's never been as prolific offensively as Haliburton, but at his peak Hill was one of the best on-ball defenders in the league and he still sees things from the bench that other players don't.

"He holds me accountable every day," Haliburton said. "In-game, when I come out of the game, he's usually the one who talks to me more than the staff. In practice, he's the one who gets on me. It's always good to have good vets around you. ... It's been a real relationship. Even if we're not teammates after this year, he's someone that I can always call, someone I can always trust."

Hill has been extremely impressed by Haliburton and said he's learned things from the player 13 years his junior. He knows he's dealing with a special player.

"He's a shining star," Hill said. "He's going to be around this league for a long time. We haven't even reached the tip of the iceberg with him. He's still learning and is one heck of a player. I'm just trying to instill to stay locked in on both ends of the floor. It's his time, even though he's a leader for us on the court he has to be a leader in the locker room too because his voice carries a lot of magnitude around here. ... I love being around him and i'm sure everybody on this team loves being around him."

Hill would like to be around him for another year if possible. It won't be easy for the Pacers to maintain the roster space to keep him. He's one of just three players on an expiring contract, the other two being Johnson and Oshae Brissett, and the Pacers could have four picks in the upcoming draft. They're unlikely to put that many rookies on the roster, but even two or three would make things a lot tighter.

Still, Indiana is home, and he still think he has a lot left to offer.

"Just to be back in that building," Hill said. "It meant so much to me growing up there and playing there and just being in that city. It's tatted across my body in three different places. It's always home for me. To be back a part of it is almost like another dream come true where you get to come home. But like I tell everybody, I don't want to be here as a rental. I would love to be here for a while and watch this thing grow to what I think it could be. I'm on board with whatever they need me to do and I'm all in."