Pacers' Ivica Zubac trade 1st-round pick backfired for Indiana, helped Clippers
This was always going to be a close call.
Pacers' Ivica Zubac trade 1st-round pick backfired for Indiana, helped Clippers originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Indiana Pacers had a weird 2025-26 season, but they were clearly thinking toward next year with all their moves.
They knew they wouldn't have superstar point guard Tyrese Haliburton, and so they basically had a one-year retool to undertake. They showed that when they traded for Ivica Zubac in the middle of the season but then shut him down quickly. They want Zubac to be Haliburton's buddy in the pick-and-roll next season.
They also would've loved to have a high-ranking draft pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, which is loaded at the top. They tried to make sure that happened as part of the Zubac trade, which included a top-four protected 2026 first-round pick going back to the Los Angeles Clippers . MORE: Warriors' Steve Kerr news means it's time to talk about LeBron and Steph Top-four protected means that as long as the Pacers were picking 1, 2, 3 or 4, they'd have that pick this season.
As one of the bottom-three teams in the league, the Pacers couldn't drop below the fifth spot. They were safe in all but one scenario. That scenario happened.