In a season of incredibly dumb moves from a variety of front offices, the Indiana Pacers' draft lottery gamble might be the worst. It cost them a chance to participate in a draft with a generational class, something that compounds current issues and hurts this team for seasons to come.
During the 2024-2025 season, the Tyrese Halliburton-led Pacers emerged as the top team in the Eastern Conference. They faced the OKC Thunder in the NBA Finals, taking that series all the way to seven games. It was a brilliant run that was orchestrated by Haliburton, who would not let them fail.
Then, game seven happened. Haliburton ruptured his right Achilles Tendon, knocking him out of the final game and costing the Pacers a championship. Even worse, Haliburton would end up missing the entire 2025-2026 season due to the injury, playing a part in the rapid decline of the team.
The Pacers' gamble that didn't pay off
Indiana went from the NBA Finals to being one of the worst teams in the league rather rapidly. Haliburton was an issue, but other injury issues combined with the departure of Myles Turner exacerbated the situation. It should have given them a good draft pick.
Then, the Pacers traded with the Clippers for center Ivica Zubac to replace Turner. In exchange, Indiana sent Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, their 2026 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick. It was a pretty big haul for LA, particularly this year.
That 2026 pick only went to the Clippers if it fell between spots five and nine in the lottery. Despite the odds being in the Pacers' favor, it came out as the fifth pick and belongs to LA. That means Indiana has exactly zero picks in the 2026 NBA Draft and will miss out on an incredibly stacked class.
Indiana is downplaying the severity of the situation
The Pacers have admitted that the gamble didn't pay off, but also that they believe in the core they've put together with a returning Haliburton. That's fair. At the same time, not getting a top draft pick after the brutal season Indiana had seems like a massive miss on their part.
If they didn't make the Zubac trade and held onto that pick, it would have put them in the running for a player like Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler, or Kingston Flemings. The Pacers don't even have any second-round picks to fall back on this year because they were already traded away.
Zubac is good center, possibly even a great one on the right team. At the same time, the Pacers' gamble cost them a chance at a legit young star to pair with returning Haliburton. That's something the Pacers have needed since the Sacramento Kings' trade years ago.
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