The Ivica Zubac Trade Was A Losing Bet By The Pacers

On February 5th, less than two hours before the deadline, news broke of the Ivica Zubac trade between the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers. It made sense on paper. The Pacers needed a center to replace Myles Turner, and the Clippers were ready to rebuild around a younger core after swapping James Harden for Darius Garland earlier that week.

What didn’t make sense, however, was the compensation: an overpay so egregious that Indiana’s president Kevin Pritchard ended up writing an apology to Pacers fans on X.

Pritchard tried to chalk it all up to bad luck, but the trade was a completely unnecessary risk—and the disastrous outcome was entirely self-inflicted. Here’s how the Pacers gambled away their future, and how the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery slammed the door shut on their title window:

Ivica Zubac Trade Overview

Indiana Pacers received:

Ivica Zubac, center
Kobe Brown, forward

Los Angeles Clippers received:

Bennedict Mathurin, guard
Isaiah Jackson, forward
2026 top-four protected first round pick
2028 second round pick
2029 unprotected first round pick

Despite actively tanking (with a 13-38 record heading into the trade deadline), the Pacers only put a top-four protection on their 2026 first rounder. If the pick landed in that range, the Clippers would receive the Pacers’ 2031 first instead.

Indiana hoped to get lucky in the draft lottery and effectively double-dip, by adding Zubac and one of the draft’s prized “big four.” They were also apparently fine punting on any prospects outside the top four, which is a ludicrous decision to make prior to the NCAA Tournament. The Pacers could have easily put a top-eight protection on the pick or simply waited until after the lottery before making a trade.

Indiana didn’t stop there. They also gave up a 2029 unprotected first and 23-year-old guard Bennedict Mathurin, a 17 point-per-game scorer and the sixth overall pick of the 2022 draft.

That’s simply too high of a price to pay for a 28-year-old center averaging 14 ppg.

The Pacers Lost Everything In The 2026 NBA Draft Lottery

The Zubac trade was a bad deal to begin with, and it got a lot worse after the lottery, when Indiana’s pick landed at number five. The Clippers, whose 2026 selection belongs to the Thunder, got a new lease on life, while the Pacers walked away empty-handed.

The Pacers didn’t just lose out on the four best players in the draft. They could have used that pick to add a long-term starter—or to trade for a player who is far more impactful than Zubac.

The Pacers-Clippers Trade Is One Of The Worst In NBA History

This is not a Zubac hit piece. He is a solid center, with a long history of playing winning basketball for good teams. He’ll certainly make the Pacers better, but he won’t close the gap between Indiana and the top teams in the West (i.e., the Thunder and Spurs).

The Pacers caught lightning in a bottle during their improbable Finals run in 2025, but they were more than one move away from being a perennial contender. Even with Tyrese Haliburton returning from his Achilles injury, Indiana mortgaged their future for 3–5 years of Zubac, with almost zero chance to win an NBA title.

Verdict: The Pacers Went All In And Lost

This is Indiana’s projected starting lineup for next season:

If Haliburton is healthy, that’s a 50-win team—but they won’t even be the favorite to win the Eastern Conference, never mind the NBA Finals. They have no first round pick, no salary cap space. There are no reinforcements coming.

Indiana had a chance to reset their future after the heartbreaking end to their incredible playoff run last season. Instead, they gave up their future for a soon-to-be 30-year-old center who’s never even been an All-Star.

The lottery was an absolute gut punch for the Pacers, but they never should have been in that position to begin with. It’s safe to say that Kevin Pritchard’s apology was warranted.