The Pacers made a surprise move on the day of the NBA trade deadline by getting involved in a trade between the Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets. The Pacers were able to acquire Jordan Nwora, George Hill, and Serge Ibaka along with additional draft capital.
The Pacers did not have to give up any draft capital or players in order to get involved in the trade given that George Hill and Serge Ibaka are largely seen as dead money and one (or both) might be headed to the buyout market very shortly.
In any case, the Pacers clearly have their eyes towards the upcoming draft in order to improve, given that they didn’t make any blockbuster moves for players like Obi Toppin or OG Anunoby like many had hypothesized that they might. Because of this, we wanted to list out the draft capital the Pacers have in upcoming drafts so that fans are aware of what they can look forward to in the upcoming offseason in which the Pacers may make some major moves.
2023 Picks
1st Round Pick (own) – likely in the lottery
1st Round Pick (via Cleve) – likely to be lower given Cleveland has been decent
1st Round Pick (via Bos) – likely to be towards the bottom of the first round
2nd Round Pick (either MIL, CLE, or GSW)
2nd Round Pick (either HOUS, DAL, or MIA)
2024 Picks
1st Round Pick (own)
2nd Round Pick (via MIL)
2025
1st Round Pick (own)
2nd Round Pick (own)
2nd Round Pick (MIA)
If you notice the Pacers have 5 (5!) picks in the upcoming draft. The question is, how should the Pacers use them? We will be covering that in the upcoming months as we begin to look ahead at the draft and what the Pacers should be doing during the offseason.